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The BBC receives around 250 000 complaints per year. It is required by its Charter to have a complaints framework which provides “transparent, accessible, effective, timely and proportionate methods” of making sure that the BBC is meeting its obligations and resolving problems. It has issued a detailed document setting out a framework and procedures for handling complaints. The BBC commits itself to several key principles in the handling of complaints. In summary, these are that complaints should be made to the BBC itself first in almost all cases, before they are taken to Ofcom, the regulatory...

Ofcom has produced its first annual Diversity in Broadcasting monitoring programme, by considering the diversity within television broadcasters as regulated by Ofcom. A similar report on the radio industry will appear too. The report focuses mainly on the five main UK broadcasters, namely the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Viacom (which owns Channel 5). As part of a broadcaster’s Ofcom licence, it is a condition that they take measures to promote equality of opportunity in employment. Ofcom has stated that unless there is accurate monitoring, it will be unclear as to the level of compliance by broadcasters...

Further to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s reference to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the impact on media plurality and broadcasting standards of the proposed acquisition by 21st Century Fox Inc of the shares of Sky Plc ( Sky) (see IRIS 2017-9/15), on 10 October 2017, the CMA issued its timetable and Issues Statement. Fox already has about 39% shareholding in Sky, whilst the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT) owns 39% of Fox and 39% of News Corporation, which fully owns News UK — the publisher of The Sun and The Times. Sky owns and operates Sky...

On 20 November 2017, Ofcom determined that two news programmes broadcast during the UK General Election in June 2017 breached the election silence rule under Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which prohibits discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues when polls are open. Channel 44 is a cable television channel. It broadcasts Urdu language news and current affairs programmes in the United Kingdom. The licence for this service is held by City News Network (SMC) Pvt Ltd (“City News” or “the Licensee”). Two complaints were received about two programmes which referred to the Conservative and...

On 19 October 2017, in Banner Universal Motion Pictures Ltd v. Endemol Shine Group Ltd & Anor, the High Court in London held that TV formats can be eligible for copyright protection as dramatic works under English law. The case related to a television game show format which is called Minute Winner, in which randomly selected members of the public could win a prize after successfully completing a minute-long challenge. It was devised in 2003 by Mr Derek Banner, a Danish citizen, and could be broadcast either singly as a one-minute fill between other programmes, or in a programme break, or as a feature-length,...