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The UK’s major competition authority, the Competition Commission, decided in December that BSkyB’s 17.9% holding in ITV Plc, the UK’s major commercial broadcaster, amounted to a merger situation and had resulted in a substantial lessening of competition within the UK market for all television services. As a result the Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise has ordered the shareholding to be reduced to a level below 7.5%. In November 2006, BSkyB announced that it had acquired a 17.9% shareholding in ITV Plc, which at the time was facing a possible takeover by Virgin Media. The minister referred...

An adjudication by the UK Advertising Standards Authority Council (Broadcast) has decided that a radio advertisement for Virgin Media Broadband did not infringe the British Code of Advertising Practice Radio Advertising Code, Section 3, concerning “Misleadingness”. A parallel adjudication by the Advertising Standards Authority Council (Non- broadcast) also cleared Virgin in respect of a national press advertisement headed “Truth, Lies and Broadband”. In total, 10 claims were the subject of the adjudication. However, most of the objections, made by both the general public and competitors (British...

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the UK communications regulator, has issued a guidance on protecting under-eighteens in programmes. The guidance is non-binding, but clarifies provisions in the binding Broadcasting Code. The guidance includes advice on programmes, which may be viewed by children; for example, on the 9 pm “watershed” for adult viewing, coverage of sexual and other offences, drugs and alcohol abuse, violence and dangerous behaviour. However, the guidance mainly concerns the participation of under-eighteens in programmes. The Broadcasting Code provides that “due care must be...

Following serious criticism of the use of premium rate phone calls in competitions, which has included the BBC as well as commercial broadcasters (see IRIS 2007-8: 11), the BBC has issued a Code of Conduct for Competitions and Voting and new rules, which severely restrict the use of such phone calls. The new Code applies to all interactive competitions and votes whether or not they involve phone calls. The competitions should never be run to make a profit, and only used for fund raising for BBC-supported charitable initiatives. The key principles are that competitions and votes are conducted in...

On 1 January 2008, following the exercise of powers conferred by the Films Act 1985 (Schedule 1, paragraph 10(1), the Films (Certification) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 came into force. The 2007 Regulations amend the Films (Certification) Regulations 2006. As a result of the amendment, it is now the case, amongst other changes, that a “report from an independent accountant is required only where an application for final certification of a film as a British film under Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985 seeks to rely on points available in paragraphs 4A(5), 4B(5) or 4C(5) (principal photography and...