[Community Television] 'PSP could be the UK's HBO'

[Michelle McGuire]

'PSP could be the UK's HBO'
Conor Dignam
04 November 2004 07:50


Ofcom senior partner Ed Richards this week said the regulator's 
proposed public service publisher (PSP) could be the UK equivalent of 
HBO, as he issued a "hypothetical tender document" indicating how the 
PSP might work.

Richards, speaking at a Westminster Media Forum event to discuss 
Ofcom's idea for a new public service entity, said the PSP could be the 
kind of "radical innovation" British public service broadcasting 
needed.

He said it would seek "£300m of guaranteed public funding and the 
freedom to innovate", with output across different digital platforms. 
"In some ways it could become the UK's equivalent of HBO," said 
Richards, citing the US pay-TV channel's ability to produce 
ground-breaking dramas such as Six Feet Under and The Sopranos and 
comedy such as Sex and the City.

"We have issued the hypothetical tender document because we want to 
ascertain some of the potential merits and opportunities," he added. 
"We have invited a number of external partners to pitch their vision of 
how this could work, but it's important to remember this is still a 
proposal."

Ofcom said that since going public with its idea for a PSP on 30 
September it had received a number of inquiries from individuals and 
companies. It hopes the "pitch document" will make clearer some of its 
thinking around the PSP.

The document says that anyone can pitch to run the PSP, with the 
exception of the BBC. A seminar will take place on 2 December when 
several media consultancies, understood to include Human Capital and 
Spectrum Strategy, will stage pitches to a panel of industry experts.

  The tender says the new PSP will:

be based outside London;

begin broadcasting in 2008 with a licence until 2016, when it would be 
put out to tender;

commission UK-produced content from many suppliers;

be free to create a brand for marketing PSP services;

be run on a not-for-profit basis, with any existing commercial bidder 
having to prove the PSP would be properly ring-fenced from its other 
services;

look at alternative revenue streams for the business, but not be able 
to earn revenue from advertising or subscriptions.

Ofcom has set a deadline of 24 November for anyone interested in making 
a so-called "mock bid" for the tender. If the idea wins parliamentary 
support, a proper tender process would take place much further along 
the line.

Source: broadcastnow.co.uk



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