Government Broadcasting Bill – Details
The Government has today published the Broadcasting Bill, which includes changes to the proposals set out in the Media Ownership and Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting consultation papers.
Media Ownership
The main proposals of the Bill will allow greater cross-ownership between newspaper groups, television companies and radio stations; there is also a change in how regulatory authorities assess and approve mergers, by the introduction of a “public interest” criteria.
In a change to the original media ownership proposals, the government has removed the two licence limit on control of ITV licences, to be replaced by a television ownership limit of 15% share of the total television audience.
National newspaper companies are to be allowed to take stakes in television licences, and TV companies will be allowed to acquire interests in newspapers on the same basis; ie newspaper companies must have less than 20% share of the total national newspaper circulation, and television companies must havea limit of 15% of the total television audience.
Other changes to the original proposals include local newspapers with more than 20% but less than 50% of the local newspaper circulation would be able to acquire up to 50% of the local radio ownership points in their area.
The ITC will have powers to impose new licence conditions to protect regional programmes in the event of a merger or acquisition of an ITV licence. The Bill also proposes a review of C4’s funding formula from January 1998.
Digital Broadcasting
Under the Bill, all existing terrestrial broadcasters (excluding the BBC) will be offered half of a multiplex (there will be six of these); they will be required to provide 100% simulcast of analogue services but will then have the flexibility to provide extra channels and services. The BBC will have its own multiplex, with the widest geographic coverage, regulated under the Charter and Agreement rather than by the ITC. Channel 3 will share the multiplex with the next widest coverage with Channel 4. Channel 5 will be offered half the multiplex with the third greatest geographic spread. Teletext too will have a guaranteed place.
Multiplex providers will be able to control up to three of the six available multiplexes; for the first 12 years there will be no cash bids nor payments to the Exchequer for these licences.
The date for switching off analogue frequencies will be reviewed once 50% of UK households are able to receive digital, or after five years of the first multiplex licence period, whichever is sooner.
Classic FM, Virgin and Talk Radio will be allowed to renew their analogue licences for a further eight years if they took up their guaranteed digital radio places, as will local stations, if they have invested in digital.
The government hopes to encourage the use of digital by requiring the ITC andRadio Authority to award licences to those organisations which pledge to install the new digital transmission network as quickly as possible, and make consumer receiver equipment as affordable as possible.
The Bill also confirms the merger of the Broadcasting Standards Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
Broadcasting Bill published by and available from HMSO.