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The rights to broadcast the matches in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, are of an extraordinary value to broadcasters. They are sold as a package by the Premier League. In November 2014, following a complaint by Virgin Media, Ofcom, the UK Communications Regulator, commenced an investigation on whether the arrangements for the packaging of the rights constitutes a restriction or distortion of competition in breach of the Competition Act 1998 and/or Art. 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). An invitation to tender was issued by the Premier League...

On 5 January 2015, Ofcom published its decision holding that ITV’s Meridian News (covering south and south east England) had not caused an unwarranted infringement of Mrs Diane Ash-Smith’s privacy during a live news broadcast that disclosed her full address and showed footage of her car registration number, in relation to a murder enquiry of which her son, Colin Ash-Smith, was a suspect. Ofcom did not consider the Meridian News had breached Practice rules 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 or 8.6 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code of Conduct. Colin Ash-Smith had in 1993 been a suspect in a murder inquiry concerning the death...

The UK Films Act 1985, Schedule 1, sets out the so-called “cultural test” according to which a film is certified as “British” and hence qualifies for film tax relief (see IRIS 2008-2/19 and IRIS 2006-1/25). A film so certified, i.e., that has passed the test, may apply for tax relief on film production costs (see Corporation Tax Act 2009, Part 15). The test is passed by gaining a certain number of points based on various criteria, including, the setting; subject matter; characters; language; location of the work; and the participants in the production of the film. The new 2015 Order, The Films...

On 15 December 2014, the United Kingdom media regulator Ofcom published two reports. One, entitled Public Sector Broadcast Annual Report 2014 (the First Report), reviewed the UK Public Sector Broadcasters (PSBs) performance since 2008. The remits of PSB channels, such as ITV and Channel 4, are defined under section 265 of the Communications Act 2003; part 2 of Schedule 12 of the 2003 Act is the relevant part for the Welsh Channel S4C and the public purpose of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is described in the BBC Charter, due for renewal in 2016. The second Report, entitled Public Service...

In a decision of 26 November 2014 (case no. A14-275018), the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that labelling obligations for advertisements contained in YouTube videos had been breached and ordered the food manufacturer Mondelez UK Ltd to ensure that future ads in this medium made their commercial intent clear prior to consumer engagement. The case concerned so-called “Lick Race videos” on five YouTube channels owned by well-known private “vloggers”, which humorously portrayed a particular way of eating Oreo biscuits. Following a complaint from a journalist, the Mondelez company...