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The Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL), the UK regulator for telecommunications and some issues relating to digital television, has issued a consultative document on the approach to be taken in pricing and conditional access for digital television; this includes its proposed views on the issues.

At the end of December 1997, the Independent Television Commission (ITC) decided that BSkyB's cross-promotion of its pay-per-view services to all viewers of Sky channels, including cable subscribers who cannot access the Sky Box Office, is not anti-competitive and will be allowed to continue. The ITC however made the provision that cable operators must be permitted to opt-out of BskyB "call to action" promotions if they wish to. If this happens the cable operator must substitute a current BSkyB `generic' promotion, which is a general awareness-type ad, in its place. In the meantime the ITC also...

A Committee has been set up by the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport to review and recommend changes to the existing list of major sporting events for which live coverage must be made available on free-to-air channels (see Part IV of the Broadcasting Act 1996). The views of rights-holders are being sought and will be made available to the Committee. The main criterion to be used in deciding which, if any, sporting events should be listed is whether "the event has a special national resonance...an event which serves to unite the nation; a shared point in the national calendar." The...

The Scottish courts decided that a defamatory statement made to the BBC was not protected by the doctrine of `qualified privilege' as the BBC is no different from any other media organisation. This doctrine serves to protect certain defamatory statements from creating liability where they fall into categories where it is seen as especially important for the public interest that free communications takes place, for example reports of inquiries or communications with members of Parliament. The court rejected the claim that the BBC performed a special role of a `watchdog in society' and that in reporting...

Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media And Sport has issued a licence to the BBC to broadcast its round-the-clock news channel BBC News 24. Although a licence was already granted to the BBC in July, the BBC withdrew its original application to broadcast a 24-hour news service, to protect itself from the threat of judicial review by BskyB. BSkyB had accused the BBC of predatory pricing because the corporation is to offer the service free to cable networks, in comparison with BskyB who sells its own 24-hour news service to the cable companies for about 50p per subscriber. The BBC's...