News International Calls For Ownership Law Reform

News International has called on the Government to reform the media ownership regulations claiming that the current system is “highly discriminatory” and “too rigid to allow organic growth.”

In its response to the DCMS’s consultation on media ownership rules, which currently prevent any newspaper owner with more than a 20% share of the market from owning a free-to-air TV or radio broadcaster, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp subsidiary said: “We believe that the Government’s goal of making the UK media industry a world leader can be achieved only by significantly lightening the regulatory burden that currently prevents the industry from fully exploiting its skills and capital.”

The company continued: “The only sensible way forward is to allow newspaper ownership to be regulated by normal competition law. We do not accept that there is any remaining justification for treating the ownership of a newspaper publishing company differently from the ownership of a TV or radio broadcaster.”

Last November in its consultation on media ownership document, the DCMS recognised that the existing system is “outdated and inconsistent” but implied that the 20% rule may remain and could be extended to cover all media markets (see Jowell Says Cross Media Rules May Remain).

News International: 020 7782 6000 www.newscorp.com

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