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On 25 July 2017, Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, decided, in a fifteen-page decision, to impose a financial sanction on a broadcaster due to the particularly serious nature of breaches of the Broadcasting Code. The matter involved Kanshi Radio, a satellite radio station that provides speech and music programmes for the Asian community in the UK. The licence for Kanshi Radio is held by Kanshi Radio Limited. A complainant alerted Ofcom to a “filthy Punjabi” song (lasting eleven minutes) broadcast on 1 September 2016 on this station containing lyrics that the complainant considered were “threatening...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has permanently revoked the licence of Iman FM, a community radio service broadcasting to the Muslim community in Sheffield. The regulator has power to do so under the Broadcasting Act 1990 if the licence holder has broadcast material likely to encourage or incite the commission of a crime or lead to disorder. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code also prohibits the broadcasting of material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder. During the holy month of Ramadan the station broadcast a series of lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born...

On 12 September 2017, and after deliberation, the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) decided to refer the proposed acquisition of Sky plc by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Secretary of State was minded to refer matters to the CMA, particularly as an earlier Ofcom report had raised concerns that the proposed merger would give rise to issues around media plurality across different platforms (see IRIS 2017-8/4). Furthermore, Ofcom’s report on the proposed acquisition addressed concerns about Fox News’...

On 29 June 2017, Ofcom’s findings on the proposed acquisition of Sky plc by Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. were published. The Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has yet to make a final decision on whether to approve the merger, which would include accepting undertakings from Sky and Fox or, alternatively, to request that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) instigate a Phase 2 investigation as to whether the merger is in the public’s interest. Fox already owns 39% of Sky and last year it offered to buy the balance of Sky’s shares. Sky is a European...

On 7 August 2017, Ofcom determined that Sky News was in breach of Rule 6.10 of the Broadcast Code by failing to list all candidates during a constituency report held during this year’s UK General Election. On 12 May 2017, during Sky’s morning show called Sunrise, the presenter had a three way discussion concerning tactical voting with the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates for the constituency of Vauxhall in London. The discussion concerned the participating candidates agreeing not to stand against each other in an attempt to encourage tactical voting. Three other candidates were...