[cma-l] Announcement on local TV

[Phil Shepherd]

Jeremy Hunt green lights local media action plan

At the Oxford Media Convention this morning Secretary of State for Culture
Jeremy Hunt announced 'a thorough review of media and communications' which
will lead to a new Communications Act.  He anticipates a Green paper by the
end of the year with new legislation in place from 2015.  He foresees a
review of all regulatory mechanisms, stressing this will not be a 'tweaking'
rather a re-design.

Immediate headlines from his speech include committing 830 million for
up-speeding broadband, a second wave of rural broadband investment and very
significantly for us the launch of an action plan for local media.   He
fully acknowledges that the long term future for local will be on IPTV but
recognises that universal provision by this route is not viable short and
middle term.

He therefore invites those interested in setting up local TV stations for
broadcast on DTT with good profile on the EPG to register with his
department by March 1st.  Formal process to start from mid summer.  He wants
to see a new national network of local services on air by mid 2012.

His expressed 'direction of travel' favours licensing a national network
affiliate spine with guaranteed local opt out licences, but he is not
proscribing the detail until the industry and other interested parties make
their input over the next few months.  Although the Nicholas Shott report
suggests there may only be 10-12 sites where local TV might be viable he
acknowledges that Greg Dyke and ULTV see the potential for many more sites
and he is open to this possibility.  He is also keen to see it benefit rural
as well as urban areas.

Reactions to this speech from this heavyweight industry audience here in
Oxford focused on impact on audiences for other PSBs, resultant impact on
advertising revenues, concern about possible changes to terms of trade.