ITC Publishes Consultation Paper On Public Service Broadcasting

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) today published the first of two consultation documents on the future role for public service broadcasting on commercial television. The commission announced its intention to debate the subject earlier this month (see ITC To Launch Public Service Broadcasting Debate) as part of a major programme of work into the expectations of viewers and the broadcasting industry on the role of PSB in a multi-channel world.

The main purpose of the paper is to discover a new definition of public service broadcasting for the next decade as the Government prepares its White Paper on the communications industry. It echoes Chris Smith’s plea at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention for “the ethos of broadcasting as a public service [to] remain at the heart of the system…of course what “public service” means is changing. But it needs a redefinition rather than a requiem.”

It is with the idea of redefinition in mind that the ITC has published the consultation paper, calling for opinions on questions including: Are the original aims of PSB still valid? How does the market relate to PSB? What form should redefinition take in the future after digital switchover? Do we need PSB in the private sector, and if so, what kind of regulation is needed to achieve it?

The second public consultation, focusing on the future of regional programming on Channel 3, will be published next week. The findings from the two consultations, and from public meetings, internet chat forums, seminars and research on the subject, will be published later this year in an ITC report presented to Government.

ITC: 020 7306 7743