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One of the BBC’s six public purposes is to promote education and learning, and this is a core part of the Corporation’s public service remit. Under its Charter, a decision on how the BBC delivers this purpose must be based on the interests of the public after considering the effects on the market. BBC Jam was an online service for 5 to 16-year-olds of all abilities, reflecting the UK school curricula. The service had been approved by the minister in January 2003; it also required state aid approval from the European Commission and this was granted in October 2003. Approval of the service included...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has published its first annual report on public service broadcasting. It is required under the Communications Act 2003 to publish reports at least every five years on the effectiveness of public service broadcasters in delivering the range of public service broadcasting, and this will contribute up until the next review. The annual report is purely factual and does not contain any editorial material; it examines output hours for public service programming, viewing figures and the views of regular viewers on the output. The report found that public service...

Nine shows on four channels (BBC, ITV, C4 and C5) have recently been the subject of concern. The shows include both dedicated TV quiz shows and those involving premium rate phone calls within the programme. Viewers who called in to vote, or take part in competitions, had been misled. The House of Commons Culture Media and Sport Select Committee had already initiated an inquiry (October 2006) into this issue and, on 25 January 2007, the Committee published its Third Report, on Call TV Quiz Shows. It concluded that stronger consumer protection is required. Ofcom published a consultation on “participation...

The Gambling Act 2005 is due to come fully into force on 1 September 2007. The Act, for the first time, provides for licences for “…remote gambling” (Section 67). There is also a new regime for broadcast advertisements for gambling (Part 16). If the operators are based in the UK, an operating licence must be obtained “to authorise the provision of gambling via remote communication e.g. via interactive television or the Internet”. Further, new rules concerning gambling advertising in the UK have been announced by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising...

Scottish Television, a commercial public service broadcaster, was found to be in breach of the Broadcasting Code by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator. The Code prohibits the promotion in programmes of products and services (with the exception of programme-related material), and the giving of undue prominence to products and services. Undue prominence may arise through reference to a product where there is no editorial justification, or through the manner in which a product appears in a programme. Scottish Television is owned by the Scottish Media Group (SMG). Its news programme included an...