United Kingdom

[GB] Regulator Publishes Annual Performance Reviews of Private Broadcasters

IRIS 1998-6:1/23

Tony Prosser

University of Bristol Law School

The Independent Television Commission has published its annual reviews of the performance of the regional Channel 3 companies and national channels 4 and 5, covering 1997. In relation to Channel 3, it notes the 'cautious and predictable nature' of programmes and criticises the preoccupation in peak factual programmes with crime, the emergency services and the paranormal. It also criticises the limited coverage of international issues in current affairs programmes. The Commission however welcomes the increased amount of documentaries, arts and children's drama in response to concerns it had expressed in the previous year. There has been a marked decline in the percentage of programmes commissioned from independent companies, particularly in the case of non-regional productions.

For Channel 4, the Commission considers that it had, in general, met its remit of appealing to tastes and interests not catered for by the other companies and of encouraging innovation and experiment. However, it appeared to have lost its drive for innovation and had a disappointing record in compliance with regulatory requirements. Channel 5, launched during 1995, had provided a service broadly in line with its promises though it needed to achieve more distinctive quality and distinctiveness.