Memorandum submitted by ITV
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE DRAFT
COMMUNICATIONS BILL
AND THE
OFCOM PAVING BILL
1. Having embarked on a process of major
reform, which has sparked both expectation and uncertainty, the
industry needs Government to carry it through and deliver an effective
and reformed regulatory regime as quickly as possible. In the
meantime Government must also ensure that sufficient departmental
resources are deployed on crucial policy areas that lie outside
the scope of the forthcoming legislation such as planning for
digital switchover.
2. The Government should ensure that a level
regulatory playing field is created for the public service broadcasters.
This should cover the way in which the qualitative aspects of
their services are regulated as well as those aspects already
covered under Tier 2 and Tier 3 in the Communications White Paper.
Responsibility should be extended to OFCOM to regulate the BBC
within Tier 3. The BBC is already covered by OFCOM at Tier 1 and
Tier 2. This modest step does not require the abolition of the
Board of Governors or of the Royal Charter, both of which should
remain in recognition of the BBC's special status as a publicly-funded
broadcaster.
3. ITV is concerned that the Government
has not yet indicated whether it intends to extend effective "must
carry" provisions for public service channels to satellite
and, if so, how it intends to achieve this objective. "Must
carry" on all platforms is necessary to ensure that public
service broadcasters remain universally available in the digital
age and to ensure that they do not subsidise the costs of the
satellite platform. In the digital-only environment "must
carry" status on all platforms for ITV1 should form a key
element of any future settlement in relation to its ongoing public
service obligations.
DIGITAL POLICY
AND ANALOGUE
SWITCH-OFF
4. ITV welcomes the Government's digital
action plan, which was recently circulated to key stakeholders.
This represents an important step forward in the creation of a
comprehensive plan for a national switchover to digital services.
ITV wishes to see rapid progress in early 2002 on the tasks set
out in the plan and on a range of key policy proposals [see section
2].
5. Whilst the BBC should not be in the business
of dictating to viewers which platform they should opt for in
order to receive digital services, ITV believes that, as the BBC
has been gifted digital terrestrial capacity, it has a particular
duty to do all it can to promote and develop the digital terrestrial
(DTT) platform. DTT has a key role to play in achieving the Government's
objective of digital switchover. Given that all licence fee payers
are currently paying for the BBC's digital services, whether or
not they can receive them, achievement of universal access to
these services should be a priority for the BBC.
COMPETITION IN
UK BROADCASTING
6. ITV welcomes the provisional conclusion
reached by the OFT in its recent report on BSkyB's position in
the pay-TV sector that it proposes to find BSkyB dominant in the
wholesale supply of premium sports and movie channels and guilty
of behaving anti-competitively. However, we are concerned at the
length of time taken by the competition authorities to resolve
these matters. It is essential that we have a genuinely open and
competitive market in TV services in the UK if we are to continue
leading the world in digital TV and deliver high quality services
to the consumer. To achieve this goal the Government should examine
options for reducing the length of time it takes to deal with
anti-competitive behaviour.
PROGRESS TOWARDS
UNIVERSAL INTERNET
ACCESS
7. ITV believes that offering viewers open
access to the internet via the TV can play a significant part
in assisting the Government to achieve its goal of universal internet
access by 2005. The ubiquity and familiarity of the TV set provides
an unprecedented opportunity to spread access to the Internet
to those sections of the population that are not PC literate.
INTRODUCTION
8. This response is submitted jointly on
behalf of ITV Network Ltd and ITV Digital.
9. ITV Network Ltd carries out the commissioning
and scheduling of programmes for ITV1 and ITV2 and represents
the collective interests of the 15 ITV regional licence holders.
ITV1 is the UK's most popular commercial TV channel. It also carries
a wide range of public service obligations including extensive
regional programming requirements.
10. ITV Digital is the UK's digital terrestrial
pay-TV platform and is co-owned by Carlton Communications Plc
and Granada Plc, the two major shareholders in ITV Network Ltd.
In addition it operates the ITV Sport Channel, a subscription
channel launched in August 2001, and ITV Active, a service that
provides open access to the Internet through the TV.
11. This response does not cover the issue
of cross-media ownership, which is a matter for ITV's shareholders.
THE DRAFT
COMMUNICATIONS BILL
AND THE
OFCOM PAVING BILL
The draft Communications Bill
12. The Committee has asked for views on
"the implications of the delay to the expected legislation
(the draft Communications Bill) establishing OFCOM". Whilst
we welcome the extensive consultation processes that have been
put in place by the Government and its commitment to getting the
legislation right, the delay is unwelcome for two key reasons:
(i) short-term reform of broadcasting matters is being delayed
due to the complexity of the "OFCOM project" (ii) limited
Whitehall resources are being tied up on planning for OFCOM and
less resource is, therefore, available to focus on key policy
areas that lie outside the scope of the legislation.
13. There are key broadcasting-specific
areas that are in urgent need of reform. For example, current
broadcasting legislation prevents ITV licence payments from being
reopened once they have been agreed at licence renewal. ITV's
current payments are based upon an assumption of annual growth
in advertising revenues of three per cent, in spite of the fact
that revenues are in fact significantly down over the past year.
Other regulators, such as OFWAT, have the power to vary equivalent
licence terms in a way that the ITC cannot. In spite of the relative
urgency of this matter in the current economic circumstances it
is being dealt with as only a small element of the all-encompassing
legislation to create OFCOM and bring the regulation of broadcasting
and telecommunications together. The time frame for dealing with
short-term broadcasting matters has, therefore, got caught up
in a timetable related to many broader, long-term issues about
the future regulation of the whole of the communications sector.
14. There is a range of key areas of policy,
such as planning for digital switchover, which lie outside the
scope of the draft Communications Bill. Key decisions that need
to be made and pieces of work that need to be completed are not
connected to the timetable for the creation of OFCOM. The scale
and complexity of the Communications Bill process has consumed
a disproportionate amount of the relatively limited resources
available within the DCMS and DTI.
15. In recent months it has been rumoured
that the draft Communications Bill, which was originally due for
publication early in the New Year, will not now be published until
late Spring 2002. This further delay is symptomatic of the slow
progress that has been made on this legislation over the past
two years. Having embarked on a process of major reform, which
has sparked both expectation and uncertainty, the industry needs
Government to carry it through and deliver an effective and reformed
regulatory regime as quickly as possible. In the meantime Government
must also ensure that sufficient departmental resources are deployed
on crucial policy areas that lie outside the scope of the forthcoming
legislation.
The OFCOM paving Bill
16. The Committee seeks views on significant
issues raised by the paving Bill currently before Parliament.
Although the scope of the paving bill is very narrow, ITV welcomes
the fact that their Lordships have taken the opportunity during
the passage of the Bill through the Upper House to debate the
wide-ranging issues for which OFCOM will be responsible. As several
peers have observed it is difficult to assess whether or not the
proposed "shadow" OFCOM is fit for purpose without debating
in some detail the proposed functions of the new regulator.
17. One of the most significant issues that
has been identified by their Lordships during the passage of the
Bill is whether or not OFCOM should have greater regulatory responsibility
for the BBC. ITV has consistently argued that it does not make
sense to create a single regulator to oversee the whole of the
communications sector without giving that regulator comprehensive
regulatory oversight of the entire broadcasting ecology.
18. We note the fact that the overwhelming
majority of those peers participating in debates on the Bill,
from all sides of the House, have expressed their concern at the
failure to create a level regulatory playing field for the public
service broadcasters, in particular at Tier 3. The former Secretary
of State, the Rt Hon Chris Smith MP, has suggested that backstop
powers over the BBC be transferred from the Secretary of State
to OFCOM.[1]
19. The recent ratings performance of a
more commercialised BBC1 is having a profound effect on the UK's
public service broadcasting ecology. The vision of an almost purely
entertainment-focused BBC1, as articulated by Mark Thompson in
his Banff speech, has been rapidly realised in spite of assurances
given by the BBC to the DCMS Committee that the Banff speech represented
a vision of a distant future.[2]
The current ratings performance of BBC1 is directly linked to
a series of decisions by the BBC Governors to permit:
— the BBC's main evening news to be
moved to a later time;
— Panorama to be moved to a late Sunday
evening slot;
— the broadcast of a fourth weekly
episode of Eastenders;
— the abandonment by BBC1 of a serious
arts programming strand.
20. The Governors approved these decisions,
which have had a direct effect on the UK's other public service
broadcasters, in what they perceive to be the best interests of
the BBC but without regard to their potential impact on the rest
of the ecology. In fact, the key decision to permit the move of
the news to 10pm was taken one year ahead of schedule and fully
in the knowledge that the ITC and ITV had reached agreement on
the return of News at Ten. This decision was directly against
the public interest, denying viewers a choice of times at which
to watch the late evening news.
21. This is an unacceptable situation in
an era when the future role of public service broadcasting as
a whole is being questioned as a result of the explosion of competition
in broadcasting. Decisions that are likely to have an impact on
the whole of the public service broadcasting ecology should be
subject to external and independent regulatory oversight by OFCOM.
22. Several of the decisions approved by
the BBC's Governors cover exactly the kind of matters, such as
the timing of peaktime news, for which OFCOM will have responsibility
at Tier 3 over ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Responsibility should
be extended to OFCOM to regulate the BBC within Tier 3. The BBC
is already covered by OFCOM at Tier 1 and Tier 2. Inclusion of
the BBC within Tier 3 does not require the acceptance of any new
point of principle nor does it require the abolition of the Board
of Governors or of the Royal Charter, both of which should remain
in recognition of the BBC's special status as a publicly funded
broadcaster.
"Must Carry" status for public service
channels
23. Whilst this issue is not dealt with
in the OFCOM Paving Bill, it will be central to the forthcoming
draft Communications Bill. As there have been developments in
this policy area outside of the legislative process since the
Committee's last report, we wish to take this opportunity to update
the Committee.
24. In the White Paper on Communications
the Government recognised the importance of the public service
channels being available on cable, satellite and digital terrestrial
in order to guarantee universal access to these services post-digital
switchover. To this end it proposed in paragraph 3.4.2 the imposition
of a "must offer" obligation on the public service channels.
However, it failed to match this with the extension of "must
carry" provisions to satellite. Whilst, "must carry"
and de facto "must carry" already apply to both cable
and terrestrial platforms[3],
the Government argued that for satellite "we will maintain
the current position that broadcasters can reach satellite viewers
by being guaranteed fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRND)
access to the proprietary conditional access systems used to deliver
and charge for satellite services." (3.4.2) Directive was
adopted containing provisions for "must carry" on cable
and DTT, but not on satellite.
25. In November 2001, following many months
of unsatisfactory negotiations, ITV announced that, via the route
set out in 3.4.2, it would make ITV1 available to all satellite
viewers in the UK as a free-to-air service. Separately, we also
licensed ITV2 to BSkyB for inclusion within the Sky basic package.
However, we believe that the price we have been required to pay
for access to Sky's platform—approximately £17 million
per annum—is excessive. No information on how this price
was derived has ever been forthcoming from Sky, nor is this price
in any way related to the direct costs of providing conditional
access (CA) services, which we estimate to be less than £100k
per annum. We have, therefore, made a formal request to OFTEL
to review what Sky has charged us for use of their CA services
and to subsequently determine an appropriate price for them. BSkyB
was notified of our intention to seek this determination prior
to the signing of the agreement.
26. The current regime requires Sky to offer
access to its conditional access facilities to all broadcasters—both
pay and free-to-air—on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory
(FRND) terms. No account is taken of the marked differences between
the different types of broadcasters, which fall under this regime.
ITV1, for example, requires access to encryption facilities not
so that it can raise revenues through subscription but to prevent
copyright problems from arising as a result of signal overspill
and, more importantly, to deliver the appropriate regional services
to its viewers—a key public service obligation. The rules
also take no account of the fact that both the Government and
viewers expect public service broadcasters to be universally available
in both analogue and digital. Both these factors fundamentally
weaken the negotiating position of public service broadcasters
such as ITV and explain why they have never been able to resolve
the pricing issue satisfactorily through commercial negotiation
with BSkyB.
27. A more effective resolution of this
problem would be to extend to public service broadcasters, including
ITV1, "must carry" status on the satellite platform
in the same way as currently applies on cable and, effectively,
on digital terrestrial. Unlike the FRND regime, "must carry"
rules apply only to selected channels and offer a guarantee of
carriage. This guarantee is the only way of ensuring that the
public service broadcasters continue to be available on all three
digital platforms, a prerequisite for the achievement of universal
access to public service broadcasting after analogue switch-off.
28. It is for this reason that ITV, along
with the BBC and all other public service broadcasters in the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been pressing at EU level
for "must carry" obligations to be extended to satellite
through the package of five draft Directives which make up the
EU Communications Review (must carry is dealt with by the Universal
Service Directive). However, both the UK Government and the European
Commission have opposed our position, taking the line that the
current FRND regime is sufficient for public service broadcasters.
In December 2001 the European Parliament adopted the package of
directives under strong pressure from the European Commission
and Member State governments to reach agreement before Christmas.
As a result, the Universal Service Directive was adopted containing
provisions for "must carry" on cable and DTT, but not
on satellite.
29. However, there has been very strong
support for the extension of "must carry" to satellite
from within the European Parliament, with over 200 MEPs (including
a significant number of UK MEPs) voting to reject the whole package
of directives on the sole basis that it did not contain such a
provision. In response to Parliament's pressure, the European
Commission has undertaken to consider the specific issue of access
by public service broadcasters to the satellite platform, with
a view to issuing guidance for national regulators and possibly
rewriting "must carry" rules in the context of next
year's review of the TV Without Frontiers Directive.
30. The UK Government's stated primary objective
for the new EU negotiations was to secure maximum flexibility
on the issue of "must carry" for the forthcoming UK
Communications Bill. However, it failed to support the inclusion
of a provision that would have afforded it the flexibility to
extend "must carry" to the satellite platform.
31. ITV is concerned that the Government
has not yet indicated whether it intends to extend effective "must
carry" provisions to satellite and, if so, how it intends
to achieve this objective. "Must carry" on all platforms
is necessary to ensure that public service broadcasters remain
universally available in the digital age and to ensure that they
do not subsidise the costs of the satellite platform. In the digital-only
environment "must carry" status on all platforms for
ITV1 should form a key element of any future settlement in relation
to its ongoing public service obligations.
DIGITAL POLICY
AND ANALOGUE
SWITCH-OFF
Digital Action Plan
32. Following the Government's announcement
in 1999 of its intention to make digital television services universally
available and switch-off the analogue terrestrial signal it has
been slow to bring forward detailed plans for achieving these
objectives. However, in October 2001 the Government issued a draft
digital action plan for consultation with key stakeholders in
the digital project. The plan does not provide a definitive "route
map" to switchover but sets out for the first time the tasks
that need to be completed in order for such a route map to be
drawn up.
33. ITV responded in detail to this consultation
process, which represents a welcome recognition of the need for
detailed planning in order to achieve universal access to digital
services. A summary of the key points made by ITV in response
to the consultation is given below:
— A date for switchover—we believe
that the Government needs to set a clear target date for the switchover
process to commence. This will provide industry and consumers
with certainty about the Government's intentions and drive investment
in the digital project. ITV recommends a target date of 2006,
reviewable in 2004.
— A "route map"—with
a clear target date in place it should be possible for Government
to produce a detailed plan setting out how switchover is to be
achieved. This plan needs to provide certainty about the Government's
intentions with regard to future use of spectrum currently allocated
for analogue and digital terrestrial broadcasting in order that
key stakeholders in the digital project such as ITV and the BBC
are in a position to make sensible investment decisions.
— A Digital Champion—once a clear
and comprehensive "route map" has been produced, a powerful
individual should be appointed to spearhead the delivery of the
switchover plan. This individual needs to be empowered to make
decisions, drive the process forward and cut through the bureaucratic
overlap and confusion that currently exists.
— Higher power DTT—if we are
to make digital television universally available, particularly
on a free-to-view basis, then we need a strong digital terrestrial
platform. Reception of the digital terrestrial signal is currently
unreliable in many parts of the country with effective DTT reception
standing at around 60 per cent of households. The main cause of
the problems with reception is the low power level at which digital
terrestrial is being broadcast in the UK. Every other country
has launched or is launching DTT at a minimum of five times the
power being used in the UK.[4]
Higher power DTT will be essential to deal with the issue of second
and third sets in the home and portable sets. It also offers significant
opportunities to develop mobile television. DTT is far and away
the cheapest way to convert the UK's households to digital. ITV
estimates that the cost of converting the 90 million or so analogue
TVs and VCRs in the UK is in the region of £3-£4 billion
using a combination of higher-powered DTT, cable and satellite
as options. Relying on cable and satellite only, which would not
in any case deliver universal access, would cost in the region
of £7-£8 billion. These costs include hardware, installation,
antennas and dishes where needed. Clearly if we can rely on existing
TV aerials in many parts of the country thanks to higher power
DTT then installation costs for digital television are significantly
reduced. The power of the DTT signal needs to be increased significantly.
— Mandating idTVs—hand-in-hand
with the need to increase the power of the digital terrestrial
signal should be a requirement to make digital equipment as easily
available and affordable as possible. The easiest way for viewers
to convert to digital is to ensure that from a certain date all
TV sets sold are digitally compatible. Manufacturers have indicated
that should this requirement be mandated they are prepared to
mass-produce digital televisions, thus bringing down the price
significantly. At the moment the vast majority of televisions
sold each year are analogue.[5]
A sensibly planned transition to a digital-only environment will
do a great deal to reduce the scale of the challenge that lies
ahead in converting the whole of the UK.
The BBC's new digital services
34. Since the Committee last reported the
Government has given the go-ahead to three new digital television
services from the BBC-two children's TV channels and BBC4, an
arts and culture-based channel. The Government has blocked the
initial plans for BBC3, a youth-oriented channel, and is currently
consulting on revised plans submitted by the BBC. ITV remains
concerned about the proposal for BBC3 and is not convinced that
this represents the most effective way for the BBC to spend the
additional monies granted to it by Parliament to promote digital
television.
35. Given the need to press ahead with the
promotion of digital services ITV was disappointed that the BBC
failed to promote its new services during the pre-Christmas period.
This is the time of year when the bulk of TV sets are sold and
the BBC should have been informing viewers about its new digital
services and the equipment necessary to receive them. During the
pre Christmas period ITV ran a series of promotions for the DVB
digital kitemark during peaktime programming to inform viewers
about digital. This follows an earlier successful promotion campaign
during Easter 2001. The BBC has never promoted this Government
backed initiative.
36. Nonetheless we welcome the fact that
the Government has placed an obligation on the BBC to vigorously
promote its new digital services as a condition of their approval.
The BBC has now committed to running a comprehensive marketing
campaign from early 2002. In light of this and the anticipated
increase in awareness of and interest in digital services it is
crucial that the key policy issues that we have already identified—namely
the coverage and reception of the digital signal and the availability
and affordability of digital equipment—are urgently addressed.
37. Whilst the BBC should not be in the
business of dictating to viewers which platform they should opt
for in order to receive digital services, ITV believes that, as
the BBC has been gifted digital terrestrial capacity, it has a
particular duty to do all it can to promote and develop the digital
terrestrial platform. DTT has a key role to play in achieving
the Government's objective of digital switchover. Given that all
licence fee payers are currently paying for the BBC's digital
services, whether or not they can receive them, achievement of
universal access to these services should be a priority for the
BBC.
38. The BBC is currently investing more
heavily in the development of interactive programming for the
satellite platform than it is for the DTT platform. This approach
means that the BBC is investing a disproportionate amount of licence
payers' money in the development of services on the digital satellite
platform. The BBC should give greater priority to exploiting all
opportunities to develop equivalent digital enhancements to its
digital terrestrial broadcasts.
Competition in UK broadcasting
39. One of the key objectives set by the
Government in the White Paper on Communications is "to make
sure that the UK is home to the most dynamic and competitive communications
market in the world."[6]
Vigorous but fair competition between digital services and platforms
is vital if tangible benefits for consumers in terms of more choice,
better quality and competitive prices are to be delivered. It
is also essential if digital switchover is to be achieved.
40. Unfortunately competition in the digital
television sector has been stifled as a result of the failure
to deal swiftly and effectively with BSkyB's abuse of its position
as a dominant operator. ITV Digital has complained to the OFT
about a range of practices adopted by Sky, which it believes represent
an abuse of a dominant position. In particular ITV Digital has
complained about the wholesale prices charged by Sky to ITV Digital
for Sky programming—namely Sky Sports and Sky Movies.
41. Sky's ability to undermine competition
has also been manifest in its attitude towards the recently launched
ITV Sport Channel. It has to date refused to offer carriage of
the ITV Sport Channel on terms that would enable ITV to make a
reasonable return and continue to fund its investment. They have
instead chosen to deny the two to three million subscribers to
their platform who had previously enjoyed watching these matches
on Sky Sports 2 the opportunity to continue to watch the matches
on the ITV Sport Channel.
42. BSkyB has been the monopoly provider
of subscription sports content since its launch in the early 1990s.
The ITV Sport Channel is the first ever competitor to Sky Sports.
In spite of the fact that Sky would actually make a profit from
distributing the ITV Sport Channel to its viewers, many of whom
wish to be able to receive it, Sky clearly takes the view that
it is in its longer-term commercial interest to put the ITV Sport
Channel out of business and reassert its monopoly control of the
UK market.
43. In March 2000 the Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) began a preliminary investigation into Sky's position in
the pay TV market and its business practices. On 5 December 2000
the OFT decided that it had sufficient evidence to form a reasonable
suspicion that BSkyB had infringed the provisions of both Chapter
One (anti-competitive agreements) and Chapter Two (abuse of dominance)
of the Competition Act and to therefore commence a more detailed
inquiry.
44. Over one year later, on 17 December
2001, the OFT issued proposals to "make a decision that BSkyB
has behaved anti-competitively, infringing UK competition law."[7]
Sky now has the opportunity to make oral and written representations
on this proposed decision and the OFT does not intend to make
a final announcement until the summer of 2002. At this point Sky
will be able to appeal this decision to the Competition Commission
Appeals Tribunal.
45. ITV very much welcomes the conclusion
reached by the OFT, the diligence with which it has pursued its
inquiries and the fact that it has made its proposals public at
this stage. It is essential that we have a genuinely open and
competitive market in TV services in the UK if we are to continue
leading the world in digital TV and deliver high quality services
to the consumer. To achieve this goal the Government should examine
options for reducing the length of time it takes to deal with
anti-competitive behaviour.
PROGRESS TOWARDS
UNIVERSAL INTERNET
ACCESS
46. The Government is committed to providing
universal access to the Internet by 2005 and is keen to increase
access in the home. By September 2001 an estimated 9.7 million
UK households, or 39 per cent, could access the Internet from
home. ITV Digital operates a service called ITV Active (formerly
OnNet), which provides customers with open access to the Internet
on their TV screen. No other platform operator provides open Internet
access, preferring instead to offer "walled garden"
services only.
47. Over 100,000 ITV Digital customers are
users of the ITV Active service and in November 2001 ITV Active
announced a deal with Bush TV whereby ITV Active will provide
the home portal for Bush Internet TV users. As a result over 250,000
people are now using ITV Active as the home portal for their Internet
TV service.
48. The ubiquity of the television set and
its relative ease of use and affordability present a vital opportunity
to widen access to the World Wide Web. This opportunity is well
understood by Government. In its White Paper, Opportunity for
All in a World of Change, published in February 2001, the DTI
states:
"Digital television will transform the communications
services available in the home. Using technology that people understand
and are comfortable and confident with, we will be able to provide
a learning resource and communications centre in every living
room. It puts control of viewing in the hands of viewers rather
than broadcasters. Choice will increase, and the potential of
teletext will be unleashed by use of graphics and high-speed updates.
Combined with a phone line, it can give everyone access to the
Internet in their living rooms, stimulating computer literacy
in the population as a whole. It will offer new Internet-based
learning opportunities and interactive services, making e-shopping
and e-banking more attractive for many people and opening up new
opportunities for business products and services."
49. The real opportunity provided by digital
television is to use the TV content with which viewers are familiar
to encourage so-called "Internet virgins" to try out
online services. Offering viewers the opportunity to go online,
whilst still watching the TV, to discover more about the world
of "Walking with Dinosaurs", "Big Brother",
"Tonight With Trevor McDonald" or "Coronation
Street", means we can bring a whole new audience to the
web.
50. Web through the TV offers an easy-to-follow
pathway to the online universe for sections of the population
that have yet to sample the web because of concerns about the
cost of purchasing a PC, fears about the complexity of the technology
or just a general feeling that "the internet is not for people
like me". It can significantly broaden the range of people
with access to the web and reduce the likelihood of the divide
between the "information haves" and the "information
have-nots" becoming a permanent feature of our society.
51. As well as generally increasing usage
of the web, internet through the TV can also assist the Government
in achieving its goal of offering citizens improved access to
the full range of government services online including education,
health, transport and local government services.
52. ITV Digital is working jointly with
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in the Government's "Wired
Up Communities" scheme in a project in Brampton Bierlow,
a former South Yorkshire pit village. The Pit2Net project launched
in September 2001 and is aimed at providing internet and e-mail
access, via ITV Active, to more than 1,200 homes. This project
will enable us to test the benefits of offering people connections
to the internet in their homes and communities via the TV. Information
about the Pit2Net scheme is available at www.itvactive.co.uk/onnet/brampton.
53. ITV believes that offering viewers open
access to the internet via the TV can play a significant part
in assisting the Government to achieve its goal of universal internet
access by 2005.
1 "My hon. Friend will doubtless have been following
carefully the proceedings on the Office of Communications Bill
in the other place. He will have noticed that it and many outside
commentators have been pressing for as much even handedness as
possible in the regulatory environment between all the public
service broadcasters, including the BBC. Will he therefore consider
the possibility, as the shape of Ofcom develops through the legislative
process, that the final backstop regulatory power in respect of
the BBC should rest with Ofcom rather than with the Secretary
of State?" HC Deb, 5 November 2001. Back
2
"Therefore, we are putting in a considerable amount of time
to thinking what is BBC over the next five years. Mark's speech
was talking about a journey. We have to think also, while we are
doing that, that at some stage we are going to move into a position
of analogue switch-off. By that time there will be five, possibly
six, BBC channels in every home. Therefore, you have to look at
what is, at that stage, the right portfolio of channels. Therefore,
we are dealing with what is the short-term now and where we are
going to be. As Mark pointed out in his speech in Banff, quite
clearly this is the beginning of a journey." Greg Dyke, addressing
the DCMS Select Committee on 13 July 2000. Back
3
Cable providers "must carry" the public service channels.
Under existing arrangements the cable companies do not charge
for carriage and the public service channels do not charge the
platform for the provision of high value content. In the terrestrial
environment the public service channels have been allocated capacity
by Government. Back
4
See Annex for Table. Back
5
Of some six million TVs sold each year in the UK, only approximately
200,000 are digital TVs. Back
6
Foreword, A New Future for Communications, Cm 5010. Back
7
Office of Fair Trading statement, 17 December 2001. Back
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