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Channels 3 and 5 | |
209 Digital Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences | |
(1) This section applies to the grant by OFCOM, at any time on or after the | |
television transfer date, of a licence under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to provide a | |
Channel 3 service or to provide Channel 5. | 5 |
(2) The licence must— | |
(a) be a licence to provide the licensed service with a view to its being | |
broadcast in digital form; and | |
(b) contain such condition (if any) requiring the provider of the service to | |
ensure that the whole or a part of the service is also provided for | 10 |
broadcasting in analogue form as OFCOM consider appropriate. | |
(3) The conditions included in a licence by virtue of subsection (2)(b) must be such | |
as to enable effect to be given to any directions given from time to time by the | |
Secretary of State to OFCOM about the continuance of the provision of services | |
in analogue form. | 15 |
(4) Where the licence contains a condition falling within subsection (2)(b), it must | |
also contain a condition that— | |
(a) the programmes (apart from the advertisements) that are included in | |
the service provided in analogue form, and | |
(b) the times at which they are broadcast, | 20 |
are to be the same as in the case of, or of the specified part of, the service | |
provided for broadcasting in digital form. | |
(5) The licence— | |
(a) must be a licence which continues in force, from the time from which it | |
takes effect, until the end of the licensing period beginning or current | 25 |
at that time; and | |
(b) shall be renewable, on one or more occasions, under section 211. | |
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) a licensing period is— | |
(a) the period beginning with the commencement of this section and | |
ending with the initial expiry date; or | 30 |
(b) any subsequent period of ten years beginning with the end of the | |
previous licensing period. | |
(7) The licence must contain the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for | |
the purpose of performing their duty under section 256. | |
(8) The conditions of the licence must also include conditions prohibiting the | 35 |
imposition, whether directly or indirectly, of the following— | |
(a) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of the licensed service; | |
(b) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of any service consisting in the provision of assistance for disabled | 40 |
people in relation to programmes included in the licensed service; and | |
(c) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom | |
of any service (other than one mentioned in paragraph (b)) which is an | |
ancillary service in relation to so much of the licensed service as is | |
provided in digital form. | 45 |
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(9) It shall be unlawful to impose a charge in contravention of a condition imposed | |
under subsection (8). | |
210 Replacement of existing Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences | |
(1) It shall be the duty of OFCOM to make an offer under this section to every | |
person who, when the offer is made, is the holder of a licence (an “existing | 5 |
licence”)— | |
(a) to provide a Channel 3 service; or | |
(b) to provide Channel 5. | |
(2) The offer made to a person under this section— | |
(a) must be an offer to exchange his existing licence for a replacement | 10 |
licence; and | |
(b) must be made as soon as practicable after the television transfer date. | |
(3) The replacement licence offered must be one granted in accordance with the | |
provisions of— | |
(a) Part 1 of the 1990 Act; and | 15 |
(b) section 209 of this Act; | |
but sections 15 to 17A of the 1990 Act (award of licences) are not to apply in the | |
case of the replacement licence. | |
(4) Subject to subsection (5), where OFCOM make an offer under this section to a | |
person, the service which they are proposing to license by the replacement | 20 |
licence must be a service which— | |
(a) is provided with a view to its being broadcast in digital form; but | |
(b) subject to that and to any requirements of section 209, appears to | |
OFCOM to be a service that is equivalent in all material respects to the | |
service the provision of which in analogue form was authorised by the | 25 |
existing licence. | |
(5) An offer under this section may, to such extent as OFCOM think fit, propose | |
the grant of a licence to provide a service for an area or at times which, though | |
substantially the same as in the case of the existing licence, are not identical. | |
(6) The offer must propose the inclusion in the replacement licence of conditions | 30 |
as to the payment of amounts to OFCOM which require the payment of— | |
(a) the same amount in respect of each complete calendar year falling | |
wholly or partly within the period for which the replacement licence is | |
in force, and | |
(b) an amount equal to the same percentage of the qualifying revenue for | 35 |
each accounting period of the licence holder falling within that period, | |
as would have been payable under the existing licence had that licence | |
continued in force until the end of the period for which the replacement licence | |
is granted. | |
(7) That offer must also propose the conditions for allowing amounts paid for a | 40 |
period under the existing licence to be set off against liabilities for the same | |
period arising under the replacement licence. | |
(8) An offer under this section must set out— | |
(a) the terms of the proposed replacement licence; | |
(b) the conditions on which OFCOM are proposing to grant the | 45 |
replacement licence; | |
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(c) the period for which the offer is open; | |
(d) the date on which the proposed replacement licence will be granted if | |
the offer is accepted; | |
(e) the time as from which it is proposed that that licence will take effect if | |
the offer is accepted; and | 5 |
(f) the time from which the existing licence will cease to have effect if the | |
offer is not accepted. | |
(9) The times set out under subsection (8) must— | |
(a) in the case of the time set out under paragraph (e), be in the period of | |
twelve months beginning with the television transfer date; and | 10 |
(b) in the case of the time set out under paragraph (f), be in the period of | |
eighteen months after the end of the period set out under paragraph (c) | |
of that subsection. | |
(10) Where a person to whom an offer has been made under this section elects, by | |
notification to OFCOM, to exchange his licence for the replacement licence | 15 |
offered to him— | |
(a) he is entitled, on the date set out in the offer, to be granted, in | |
accordance with Part 1 of the 1990 Act and section 209 of this Act, a | |
replacement licence under that Part in the terms, and on the conditions, | |
so set out; | 20 |
(b) the replacement licence shall come into force, and the existing licence | |
cease to have effect, at the time specified in the offer, or such later time | |
as OFCOM may, with the consent of that person, direct; and | |
(c) the service which he is authorised to provide by the replacement | |
licence, so far as it is provided in digital form, shall be a qualifying | 25 |
service for the purposes of Part 1 of the 1996 Act. | |
(11) Where the person to whom an offer has been made under this section— | |
(a) does not elect, during the period for which the offer is open, to | |
exchange the existing licence for the replacement licence, or | |
(b) rejects the offer before the end of that period, | 30 |
the existing licence shall have effect as if the period for which it is to continue | |
in force ended with the time specified in the offer for the purposes of | |
subsection (8)(f). | |
(12) In this section “qualifying revenue” has the same meaning as in section 19 of | |
the 1990 Act. | 35 |
211 Renewal of Channel 3 and 5 licences | |
(1) The holder of— | |
(a) a licence to provide a Channel 3 service, or | |
(b) a licence to provide Channel 5, | |
may apply to OFCOM for the renewal of his licence for a period of ten years | 40 |
from the end of the licensing period current at the time of the application. | |
(2) An application for renewal may only be made in the period which— | |
(a) begins four years before the end of the current licensing period; and | |
(b) ends three months before the day that OFCOM have determined to be | |
the day by which they would need to publish a tender notice if they | 45 |
were proposing to grant a fresh licence to take effect from the end of | |
that period. | |
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(3) A determination for the purposes of subsection (2)(b)— | |
(a) must be made at least one year before the day determined; and | |
(b) must be notified by OFCOM to every person who, at the time of the | |
determination, holds a licence in respect of which there is right to apply | |
for renewal under this section. | 5 |
(4) Where OFCOM receive an application under this section for the renewal of a | |
licence, they must— | |
(a) decide whether they will be renewing the licence; | |
(b) if they decide that they will be, determine in accordance with section | |
212 the financial terms on which the licence will be renewed; and | 10 |
(c) notify the applicant of their decision and determination. | |
(5) Section 17(5) to (7) of the 1990 Act (suspect sources of funds) apply in relation | |
to an applicant for a renewal under this section as they apply in relation to an | |
applicant mentioned in section 17(5) of that Act, but as if references to the | |
award of a licence were references to its renewal. | 15 |
(6) OFCOM may decide not to renew the licence if they are not satisfied that the | |
applicant (if his licence were renewed) would provide a service complying | |
with the requirements imposed under Chapter 4 of this Part by conditions | |
relating to— | |
(a) the public service remit for the licensed service; | 20 |
(b) programming quotas; | |
(c) news and current affairs programmes; and | |
(d) programme production and regional programming. | |
(7) OFCOM may also decide not to renew the licence if they propose to grant a | |
fresh licence for a service replacing the licensed service which would differ | 25 |
from the licensed service in— | |
(a) the area for which it would be provided; or | |
(b) the times of the day, or days of the week, between or on which it would | |
be provided. | |
(8) In all cases in which— | 30 |
(a) the applicant notifies OFCOM that he accepts the terms notified to him | |
under subsection (4)(c), and | |
(b) they are not required or allowed by subsections (5) to (7) to refuse a | |
renewal, | |
they must grant the renewal as soon as reasonably practicable. | 35 |
(9) But OFCOM must not grant a renewal under this section more than eighteen | |
months before the end of the licensing period from the end of which the | |
renewal will take effect. | |
(10) Where a licence is renewed under this section, it must be renewed on the same | |
terms and conditions, subject only to such modifications as are required to give | 40 |
effect, in accordance with the determination under subsection (4)(b), to the | |
requirements imposed by section 212(4). | |
(11) Nothing in this section requires OFCOM, following the receipt of an | |
application for the renewal of a licence— | |
(a) to make a decision or determination, or | 45 |
(b) to take any other step under this section, | |
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at any time after an order under section 225 has come into force preventing the | |
renewal of the licence. | |
(12) For the purposes of this section a licensing period is— | |
(a) the period beginning with the commencement of this section and | |
ending with the initial expiry date; or | 5 |
(b) any subsequent period of ten years beginning with the end of the | |
previous licensing period. | |
(13) In this section “tender notice” means a notice under section 15 of the 1990 Act. | |
212 Financial terms of licence renewed under s. 211 | |
(1) The determination under section 211(4)(b) must comprise— | 10 |
(a) a determination of the amount which the holder of the renewed licence | |
will be required by the conditions of that licence to pay to OFCOM in | |
respect of the first complete calendar year falling within the renewal | |
period; and | |
(b) a determination of the percentage of qualifying revenue for each | 15 |
accounting period of the licence holder falling within the renewal | |
period which the holder of that licence will be required by those | |
conditions to pay to OFCOM. | |
(2) The amount determined under subsection (1)(a) must be equal to the amount | |
which, in OFCOM’s opinion, would have been the cash bid of the licence | 20 |
holder were the licence (instead of being renewed) to be granted for the period | |
of the renewal on an application made in accordance with section 15 of the 1990 | |
Act. | |
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b)— | |
(a) different percentages may be determined for different accounting | 25 |
periods; and | |
(b) the percentages that may be determined for an accounting period | |
include a nil percentage. | |
(4) The renewed licence is required, as renewed, to include conditions requiring | |
the licence holder to pay to OFCOM— | 30 |
(a) in addition to any fees required to be paid by virtue of section 4(1)(b) of | |
the 1990 Act, but | |
(b) instead of the amounts payable under the corresponding provision | |
applicable under the conditions of the licence to the period before the | |
renewal takes effect, | 35 |
the amounts specified in subsection (5). | |
(5) Those amounts are— | |
(a) in respect of the first complete calendar year falling within the renewal | |
period, the amount determined under subsection (1)(a); | |
(b) in respect of each subsequent year falling wholly or partly within the | 40 |
renewal period, that amount increased by the appropriate percentage; | |
and | |
(c) in respect of each accounting period of the licence holder falling within | |
the renewal period, an amount representing a specified percentage of | |
qualifying revenue for that accounting period. | 45 |
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(6) The percentage specified for the purposes of subsection (5)(c) in respect of an | |
accounting period must be the amount determined for that period under | |
subsection (1)(b). | |
(7) In this section— | |
“the appropriate percentage” and “qualifying revenue” each has the same | 5 |
meaning as in section 19 of the 1990 Act; and | |
“renewal period”, in relation to a licence, means the period for which the | |
licence is in force by reason of its renewal. | |
The public teletext service | |
213 Duty to secure the provision of a public teletext service | 10 |
(1) OFCOM must do all that they can to secure the provision, in accordance with | |
this Chapter and Part 1 of the 1996 Act, of a teletext service that is available | |
nationwide. | |
(2) The service must consist of— | |
(a) a single teletext service provided in digital form with a view to its being | 15 |
broadcast by means of a television multiplex service; and | |
(b) for so long as Channel 4, S4C and one or more Channel 3 services are | |
broadcast in analogue form, an analogue teletext service. | |
(3) The service, if licensed to do so in accordance with section 214, may continue | |
to include an analogue teletext service after it is no longer required under | 20 |
subsection (2)(b) to include such a service. | |
(4) The analogue teletext service that must be or may be comprised in the public | |
teletext service is a single additional television service that uses the combined | |
spare capacity available for the provision of additional television services on | |
the frequencies on which Channel 3 services, Channel 4 and S4C (or any of | 25 |
them) are broadcast in analogue form. | |
(5) For so long as the public teletext service must consist of both a teletext service | |
provided in digital form and an analogue teletext service, OFCOM must secure | |
that both services are provided by the same person. | |
(6) But nothing in this section— | 30 |
(a) requires the contents of the two services comprised in the public | |
teletext service to be the same; | |
(b) prevents the service from including different items for different parts of | |
the United Kingdom or prevents the different items from being made | |
available only in the parts of the United Kingdom for which they are | 35 |
included; or | |
(c) prevents the licence holder from making arrangements authorised by | |
virtue of section 215 for the provision of the whole or a part of the | |
public teletext service by another. | |
(7) OFCOM must exercise their powers— | 40 |
(a) to make frequencies available for the purposes of Channel 3 services, | |
Channel 4 and S4C; and | |
(b) to make determinations for the purposes of section 48(2)(b) of the 1990 | |
Act (determinations of spare capacity), | |
in a manner that takes account of their duty under this section. | 45 |
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