Thames got its second blow in just over a year this morning when the ITC announced that it was not awarding the licence for a new national terrestrial channel to Channel 5 Holdings, headed by the TV company.
The news was given at a press conference attended by Peter Rogers, director of finance and George Russell, chairman of the Commission, who believe that the decision is in the channel’s long term interests.
Following a five – hour meeting yesterday, the Commission summarised the reasoning behind its rather surprising decision;
a) They were not satisfied with the consortium’s business plan, with regard to projected costs, audience share and revenue projections contained within it.
b) They were not satisfied with the level of commitment from the investor. George Russell emphasised that this was a major factor in the decision, given that the consortium may not have been able to maintain a high enough level of backing and programme input over the period of ten years.
The technical question of actually being able to transmit to areas within the UK was satisfactorily covered byChannel 5 Holdings, according to the Commission but the technical costs such as the retuning of videos would always remain a danger area.
Russell says that the licence may now be readvertised, and other options for the future of Channel 5 will be considered. The idea of independent franchisees taking on licences in different parts of the country will certainly be slotted in as a distinct possibility.
The Commission believes that although the advertising industry is suffering a low there is still a market for another national channel but unlessthe successful applicant can promise national advertisers total national coverage it may not be a necessary service to them.
Mr Russell declined to comment on when the licence will be readvertised and how long it will take the Commission to consider possible options for the future.
