[cma-l] Press Release re Digital Britain's failure to address the need for local TV

[Jaqui Devereux]

LABOUR MP CRITICISES LACK OF LOCAL TV IN DIGITAL BRITAIN

The chair of the All Party Parliament Group on Community Media has 
criticised the Digital Britain report, published by the government 
yesterday, for not going far enough on new measures to support local 
television.

Ian Stewart, who is also the Labour MP for Eccles, sponsored early day 
motion 1013, “Local Public Service Television”, in 2008 which attracted 
162 signatures from MPs – more than any other broadcast policy early day 
motion in the past three years.

Ian Stewart said:

“For the past five years, Ofcom has refused to conduct a dedicated 
consultation on the enabling policy options for local TV. Last year, 
Ofcom wrote to MPs who signed my early day motion dismissing our 
proposals for local TV out of hand, with no research or consultation. 
Ofcom even opposed calls for trials of local TV on Freeview. In its PSB 
Review Ofcom ignored local TV until the very end, when it produced some 
deeply flawed economic research. It is therefore not surprising, but 
still disappointing, that the Digital Britain report had little to say 
about the future of local TV.

“Ofcom has behaved disgracefully on this issue, refusing to objectively 
consult or examine the issues. If local TV channels are left to buy 
spectrum in auctions or private transactions then there is a high risk 
many people will have no access to discussion programming about their 
own local area on free-to-air television. I will be writing to the new 
Secretary of State calling for him to ensure the sixth channel on 
Freeview and cable is reserved as a local TV channel.”

Jaqui Devereux, spokesperson for the United for Local Television (ULTV) 
campaign, said:

“Local TV would enable citizens to participate in the making of 
programmes and to see and question local politicians and others who 
directly influence their lives. It would also break-up ITV1’s monopoly 
over the sale of terrestrial TV advertising in local markets.

“It is difficult to understand why ITV should be granted at least £55m 
of regulatory assets but not have to pay for its own regional news 
programmes when other providers are willing to supply entire local TV 
channels but are denied regulatory assets.

“The Conservatives have come out strongly in favour of local TV and the 
government has said it will keep the issue under review. We will press 
the Secretary of State hard in the coming weeks. Ofcom is disregarding 
its duty to achieve the optimal use of spectrum by forcing prospective 
local TV providers to negotiate with a monopoly spectrum gatekeeper with 
no obligations to release capacity on a fair or reasonable basis.”


-- 
Jaqui Devereux

Director
Community Media Association

15 Paternoster Row
Sheffield
S1 2BX

+44 114 279 5219


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