Minister urged to discuss ITV crisis

BECTU has called on DCMS minister Kim Howells to meet ITV union reps.

As fears grow for regional programming on ITV, the union, together with the NUJ and electricians' union Amicus, has urged the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, to reduce the annual licence payments that the companies must make to the Treasury.

These payments were fixed for ten years before the collapse of advertising income which hit the ITV network last year, and the unions want them to be reviewed on an annual basis to take account of the companies' ability to pay.

The squeeze on ITV funding has already begun to hit jobs and local output, and the unions have warned that the nework faces "a permanent weakening of its regional service".

Concerns about regional programming in ITV have coincided with the government's lengthy consultation on a new regulatory framework for broadcasting.

In a response to goverment proposals for a new Communications Bill, BECTU has told the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) that it is opposed in principle to the channel's local licences falling into the hands of one company.

The union has also rejected a proposal to scrap the current 15% limit on ITV audience share that can be controlled by any one company.

Read full response to DCMS consultation

The union also rejected the possibility of one company being allowed to take over both the weekday and weekend ITV licences in London.

Many observers including Westminster MPs fear that ITV's regional programming is under threat, and BECTU has proposed that each ITV licence area should be given minimum targets for the hours of locally-made programmes that are screened nationally. There should also be a requirement to broadcast more regionally-produced programmes in peak time, says the union.

Over 50 MPs have now signed an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for a debate on the role of regional ITV output on local democracy and culture. The motion urges the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the TV regulator, to use its muscle to defend regional programming.

BECTU has recently criticised the ITC for allowing ITV companies to cut back their regional commitments in response to a slump in advertising income.

Independent local radio (ILR) companies also came in for criticism in the union's submission on media ownership. They were accused of "narrow self-interest" in campaigning for the relaxation of ownership limits in their sector. The ILR companies are lobbying for a points-based system of ownership control to be replaced by routine competition laws.

According to BECTU this would encourage further concentration of ownership in a part of the broadcasting industry which has already seen the creation of UK-wide chains of stations without a strong local identity. Cross-media ownership rules, which limit the stake that newspapers can hold in TV and radio stations, should be retained, said the union, in order to prevent local media monopolies being created.

BECTU believes that several other current restrictions on ITV ownership should also be retained, including a bar on licences being bought by religious groups, non-European organisations, or advertising agencies.

The full Communications Bill has not yet been published, and BECTU intends to continue lobbying government through the spring. Parliament is however considering a "paving bill" which sets up a new industry-wide regulator Ofcom, which will oversee all broadcasters except the BBC.

Letter sent to Kim Howells.

5th February 2002

Dr Kim Howells MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
LONDON SW1Y 5DH

Dear Minister,

We have spoken a number of times in relation to issues at the BBC. However I am writing to you on this occasion as the senior official who deals with ITV Unions. This body comprises BECTU, the NUJ and Amicus (AEEU).

A significant proportion of our members is employed by regional ITV companies, and as you will see from our submissions, each of the unions has taken an active interest in the Communications Bill. At this stage I am writing to request the opportunity for a number of us to meet with you to discuss the future of regional broadcasting. We are aware as a result of meetings with the ITC that the ITVA have requested a change to the licence arrangements for individual companies around the issue of the number of hours of regional production that they make. The ITV Unions accept that ITV needs to change, and must be in a position to compete both nationally and internationally. However this must not be at the cost of reducing even further their commitment to regional broadcasting.

A number of ITV companies have made the point to us that their licence fee is at a fixed rate for ten years, regardless of the economic climate, and in the current climate of reduced advertising revenue with the regulator having no powers to review the licence cost, they are requesting changes to their regional commitments which were made at the time their licences were granted. We believe it would be more beneficial for the ITV companies, their viewers, and in the long term the Treasury, if the system of a fixed licence fee for ten years could be reviewed by the regulator on an ongoing basis. They could then take account of the economic climate at that time. If this had been done for the previous ten years there would have been occasions when the regulator would almost certainly have increased the cost of the licences, and likewise in the current climate I am confident that they would be sympathetic to reducing the cost. If the regulator feels that the only way it can assist the ITV companies at this stage is by reviewing their regional hours commitment this will ultimately lead to a decline in the quality and quantity of regional broadcasting.

I hope this gives a flavour of what we would like to speak to you about. If you could agree to such a meeting I would be grateful if your office could contact my assistant, Lesley Miles, to arrange a convenient date for us to meet.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

GERRY MORRISSEY
Assistant General Secretary
BECTU