BECTU briefing Communications Bill: Regional ITV production (12 March 2003)

12 March 2003

BECTU briefing and proposed amendments on the UK Communications Bill: Regional ITV production

Briefing

  1. Regional programme production is the defining characteristic of ITV. The advantages have been enormous:
    • Programming on regional themes and with regional coverage of great interest to local viewers, as confirmed in audience figures.
    • Programming of excellence produced regionally for a national audience through the national ITV network.
    • Significant benefits for regional economies in skilled jobs and business opportunities both directly in television and indirectly in the supporting infrastructure (confirmed in numerous business studies and summarised in the ITC's 'Television in the Nations and Regions').
  2. The strong heritage of ITV regional production is in decline and under further threat:
    • As ownership in ITV has consolidated, we have experienced a slowdown in regional production, under-investment in regional programming (lower costs per hour), an annual loss of 2,000 hours of regional opt-out slots, the withdrawal of some ITV companies from network production, a narrower range of programme genres produced regionally, the concentration of commissioning decisions in London, large scale redundancies and some studio closures.
    • The proposed merger of Granada and Carlton and the Bill's proposed loosening of ownership regulations provide a potentially huge impetus to centralisation of production in ITV at the expense of the regions.
  3. Against this background, ITV's regional production base will only be secured by strong regulatory requirements in favour of ITV regional production on the face of the Bill. The Bill contains clauses on regional programme production (clause 281), regional programming (clause 282) and - applying to all public service broadcasters - programming quotas for original productions (clause 274). These require strengthening, as do Clauses 260 and 261 on the public service remit.
    • The clauses set no specific minimum level for the original production, regional production and regional programming quotas but merely a level and range which is 'appropriate', 'suitable' or 'sufficient' in the view of OFCOM.
    • This is inadequate. Past experience has indicted that regulators have felt obliged to modify their views on what is 'appropriate' etc to fit the economic circumstances of the ITV licence-holders. Given the growing concentration of ITV ownership, the possibility of American ownership, and the continuing depression in ITV advertising revenue, the future pressure to lower the regional and original production requirements is likely to be extreme.
    • Furthermore, the requirements for programme production should apply just as much to national network programmes produced in the regions as to regional programming. This will be especially important if ITV evolves further towards a single ITV company or even a single ITV licence.
    • Such requirements should be on the face of the Bill. Commitments by OFCOM, as suggested in the ITC Review of Programme Supply, are not in themselves sufficient.
  4. We therefore recommend amendments, in line with the spirit of the Joint Committee on the Draft Bill.
    • to replace the words 'appropriate', 'suitable' and 'sufficient' with 'substantial and significant'
    • to require that this applies to a 'wide' rather than just 'suitable' range of programmes
  5. The Government has indicated its support in principle for maintaining a strong regional television production base. These amendments are a necessary minimum step to fulfilling this aim.

Proposed amendments

Clause 260: Public service remit

Clause 261: Public service remit

Clause 274: Original programme production quota

Clause 281: Regional ITV And Channel 5 Programme Production

Clause 282: Regional ITV programming

Clause 260 (6) (i)
page 231, lines 42-3
DELETE 'what appears to OFCOM to be an appropriate range and' and INSERT 'a wide range and a substantial'

Clause 261(2)
page 232, line 46
INSERT at end 'including, in respect of Channel 3, a substantial proportion of programmes made outside the M25 area'

Clause 274 (1) (a)
page 246, lines 39-40:
DELETE: 'no less than what appears to them to be an appropriate' and INSERT: 'a substantial and significant'

Clause 281 (1) (a)
page 253, line 1:
DELETE: 'what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable' and INSERT: 'a substantial and significant'

Clause 281 (1) (b)
page 253, line 6
DELETE: 'suitable'
and INSERT: 'wide'

Clause 281 (1) (c)
page 253, line 7
DELETE: 'what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable' and INSERT: 'a substantial and significant'

Clause 281 (1) (d)
page 253 line 13
DELETE: 'suitable'
and INSERT: 'wide'

Clause 281 (3) (a)
page 253, line 20
DELETE: 'what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable' and INSERT: 'a substantial and significant'

Clause 281 (3) (b)
page 253, line 25
DELETE: 'suitable'
and INSERT: 'wide'

Clause 281 (3) (c)
page 253, line 26
DELETE: 'what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable' and INSERT: 'a substantial and significant'

Clause 281 (3) (d)
page 253, line 33
DELETE: 'suitable'
and INSERT: 'wide'

Clause 282 (1) (a)
page 254, line 10
DELETE: 'sufficient'
and INSERT: 'significant'

Clause 282 (1) (c)
page 254, line 16
DELETE: 'suitable'
and INSERT: 'significant

and equivalent amendments in Clause 282 (2) and 282 (4)

Last updated 17 March 2003