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Ofcom, the UK Regulator, has a duty, under the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996, Section 3(3), to be satisfied that any person holding a broadcasting licence (i.e., the licencee) is (and remains) ‘fit and proper’ to hold that licence. When considering whether a licence holder is fit and proper, Ofcom will take into account ‘any relevant misconduct of those who manage and control the licensee.’ As part of its on-going duty under Section 3(3) of the Acts, Ofcom has recently considered whether the broadcaster Sky remains fit and proper to hold broadcast licences in the light of information that has...

The UK communications regulator (Ofcom) has asked the co-regulatory Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD) to reconsider a decision relating to editorial responsibility for on-demand programme services. The Communications Act 2003, as amended to implement the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, requires that there be a person with editorial responsibility for such services, who must notify ATVOD and pay a fee. Editorial responsibility is defined in terms of ‘general control’ over what programmes are included in the service and over the manner in which such programmes are organised, although...

On 23 July 2012, the European Commission announced that it had written to Portugal, Slovenia, Finland (concerning the region of Åland) and the United Kingdom (concerning Gibraltar) to seek information on the implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive. In 2011, the European Commission had already sent fact-finding letters to twenty-four member states (including Finland and the United Kingdom). The European Commission is looking for clarifications on the following issues: the country of origin principle and jurisdiction issues; audiovisual commercial communications; the protection...

In August 2010 the UK communications regulator Ofcom referred to the general competition authority, the Competition Commission, the supply and acquisition of subscription pay-TV movie rights and packages. It has the power to do this if it has reasonable grounds for suspecting that competition is not working effectively in a market. The Commission has to decide whether any feature or combination of features of a relevant market restricts or distorts competition in the UK. The Commission has decided that Sky’s position in the acquisition and distribution of movies in the first pay window does not...

On 17 May 2012, the English High Court overturned the decision of a lower court that had required a number of broadcasters, including Sky, the BBC and Independent Television News, to hand over to the police footage of violent disorder accompanying the eviction of the inhabitants of a travellers’ site. The police had applied under s.9 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which empowers a court to grant access to ‘special procedure material’, including journalistic material, if there are reasonable grounds for believing that a serious offence has been committed, if the material would be...