Whittingdale Calls For An End To ITN Ownership Rules

Shadow Secretary for Culture Media and Sport, John Whittingdale, is calling on the Government to abolish the ownership regulations on ITN, following news that Carlton and Granada are keen to take control of the news operation (see Carlton And Granada Move To Take Control Of ITN).

Whittingdale has branded the regulations, which will prevent Carlton and Granada from increasing their existing 20% stake in ITN following their merger, as “outdated”, arguing that they will limit the growth of the independent news organisation, which provides services for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five.

He said: “The Government claims that the Communications Bill is relaxing rules on media ownership, yet the rules they propose will act as an obstacle to the merging of Carlton and Granada and will require the new company to divest part of its holdings.”

He added: “The Government should adopt a similar attitude to this question as with other areas in the Communications Bill and we will be tabling amendments to remove the existing ITN ownership limits.”

Earlier this year, ITV partners Carlton and Granada acquired ITN’s 65% stake in the ITN News Channel with the intention of relaunching it as the ITV News Channel (see

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