Hodgson Calls For Review Of Ownership At ITN
Patricia Hodgson, chief executive of the ITC, has called on the Government to conduct an in-depth review of the ownership structure at ITN before allowing Carlton and Granada to increase their stake in the news provider.
The two ITV partners are currently calling for an amendment to the Communications Bill to allow them to take complete control of ITN (see Carlton And Granada Move To Take Control Of ITN) following their proposed £2.6 billion merger, which is currently under the scrutiny of the Competition Commission (see Ad Industry Welcomes Scrutiny Of Planned ITV Merger).
Carlton and Granada each hold 20% of ITN, with the remaining shares split equally between Reuters, United Business Media and the Daily Mail & General Trust (see ITN Appeals For Relaxation Of Ownership Laws). In its current form the Communications Bill would restrict ITV’s combined stake to 40%, but Carlton and Granada are keen to develop ITN as a core business and speculation suggests that the other shareholders are potential sellers.
Addressing a small gathering of “opinion formers” at the House of Commons yesterday, Hodgson pointed out that ITN also supplies news to Channel 4, Channel Five, commercial radio and news agencies around the world.
She called on the new super-regulator, Ofcom, to make a review of ITN’s structure an “early priority” but said: “Next year is the time to make such a decision, not now.”
“At its most extreme, this time next year Sky could own Channel Five and Berlusconi ITV. Perhaps not, but big decisions are usually best made in possession of all the facts. We might need protection for a second UK source of TV news,” she added.
In a speech designed to emphasise the importance of TV news, Hodgson praised Channel 4 news for its steadily growing audiences but criticised ITV for its “lack of faith” in News At Ten.
Last November the ITC and the BSC published the results of a study which claims that our news infrastructure risks being “undermined” by the growing assumption that news is something available “free of charge and free of effort” (see Regulators Say Communications Bill Must Protect TV News).
ITC: 0207 306 7743 www.itc.org.uk
Recent Related Stories from NewsLine ITC Flooded With Complaints Over ‘Dog Breath’ TV Ad BSkyB And BT Probed Over Joint Marketing Campaign Ofcom To Be Fully Operational By December This Year
Subscribers can access ten years of NewsLine articles by clicking the Search button to the left