ITC To Advertise C5

The Independent Television Commission has announced that it is to readvertise Channel 5. Applications to run the UK’s fifth television channel will be invited in November.

It plans to award the licence by competitive tender in the autumn of next year.

ITC/C5 DETAILS

The Independent Television Commission has announced today that it intends to re-advertise the licence for Channel 5. The Invitation to Apply will be issued on 1 November 1994 with a closing date six months later. The licence will be awarded in autumn of 1995, by a competitive tender.

The government allocated the spare UHF channel number 37 for Channel 5 use; however, ITC engineers have identified additional frequencies, which it believes may make it possible to increase reach from the expected 52% up to 70%, (subject to national and international clearances being achieved.) The government has also indicated that ‘simulcasting’ would be considered in the longer term future which could increase coverage further to between 80 and 95 per cent.

Each applicant for the Channel 5 licence will have to meet requirements related to programming, to satisfy the Commission that the service can be sustained over the ten year licence period and to provide a satisfactory proposal for retuning equipment with which Channel 5 would otherwise interfere. Applicants will be asked to show how they will be able to maintain the service if coverage is lower than expected; eg 60 or 52%.

Full details of the tendering process will be available when the Invitation to Apply is published in six weeks time. ITC 071 255 3000