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On 23 June 2016, polling stations in the UK were open from 07.00 to 22.00 to enable voters to participate in the referendum on whether the UK should stay in the European Union or not. Section 6.4 of the Ofcom Broadcast Code states that “discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must finish when the poll opens (this refers to the opening of actual polling stations. This rule does not apply to any poll conducted entirely by post.)”. A Fox News programme was the subject of a complaint under Section 6. Fox News is a news channel originating in the USA, broadcast on the digital satellite...

On 4 July 2016, Ofcom determined that RT’s current affairs series Going Underground, broadcast on 5 and 26 March 2016, had breached Rule 5.5 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code by failing to ensure due impartiality. RT is a Russian global news and current affairs channel funded by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, and in the United Kingdom is broadcast by satellite and digitally by licensee TV-Novosti. Going Underground ran a series of interviews and presentations asserting that the Turkish government was pursuing an “ethnicide” policy against the Kurds and...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has decided to close an investigation into how the Premier League sells live UK audiovisual media rights for Premier League football matches. The investigation was carried out under the Competition Act 1998, and examined whether the selling arrangements of the Premier League restrict or distort competition. This followed a complaint by Virgin Media about the arrangements for auctioning rights (see IRIS 2015-4/10). In 2006 the Premier League had given undertakings to the European Commission in relation to the joint selling of media rights, but these expired...

In the UK, the BBC (and S4C, the Welsh language broadcaster), are funded by a licence fee. This is a fee payable by the owner of any television receiving equipment, including laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. It is a criminal offence to install or use a TV receiver if this has not been authorised by a TV licence. Under the Communications Act 2003 and regulations made under it in 2004, the requirement applied to equipment used for streaming live television services online (‘linear’ television) but not for ‘on-demand’ services, viewed at a different time from the broadcast, or provided on-line...

On 12 May 2016, a White Paper was presented to the British Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, setting out the core proposed changes to reform and modernise the BBC. This would create the basis for the ninth BBC Royal Charter, as the current one ends in December 2016 (for the previous Royal Charter, see IRIS 2006-5/22 and IRIS 2005-7/23). The Royal Charter is the constitution of the BBC. The White Paper is a consequence of wide-ranging consultation with the public and the creative industries. The proposed reforms for the new Charter are to enhance the BBC’s public...