ITC Chief Calls For Competition Over Regulation In Communications

The ITC’s chief executive, Patricia Hodgson, has said that regulation should be avoided in favour of competition law as far as possible in communications, except where public interest principles are at stake. Hodgson, who was beaten by Greg Dyke to the post of director-general of the BBC, is tipped as a possibility to head up the new cross-media communications regulator, OFCOM.

She was delivering the annual ITN – European Media Forum (EMF) lecture when she said, “We should be reluctant to regulate, preferring competition and as much certainty for business as possible.”

The exception to this is public service broadcasting. The ITC has shown a strong interest in this aspect of broadcasting of late, commissioning research into public opinion on PSB, asking licensees to prepare rolling annual statements of how they deliver their public service remits and planning to report back with an assessment of what the industry as a whole offers audiences.

Hodgson’s background at the BBC does not stop her from expecting large amounts from the non-commercial and commercial channels alike: “If you add the BBC licence fee together with the opportunity cost of spectrum and of commercial schedules that don’t only chase ratings, Britain may be subsidising public service to the tune of £3.5 to £4 billion a year in broad terms,” she said. “Are we getting the cultural return we have the right to expect, as tax payers as well as viewers and listeners?”

Hodgson concluded by saying that OFCOM would need to manage the tensions between supporting competition and delivering public service objectives. “These are decisions for citizens and their representatives,” she said, “Parliament must establish its priorities. OFCOM’s role is to apply them.”

ITC: 020 7255 3000

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