[Community Television] Ofcom chief defends plans for PSB

[Michelle McGuire]

Ofcom chief defends plans for PSB
Paul Revoir
  04 October 2004 12:53


  Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter has defended controversial plans 
to create a new £300m public service broadcaster, saying it will keep 
the BBC competitive and help promote innovative programming.

Carter, in an article in today’s Guardian, admitted there had been a 
"mixed response" to the report, published last week. But he said the 
Communcations Act had been "unambigious" that Ofcom should look at how 
PSB should be "maintained and strengthened".

He added: "At the end of the debate, the nation may decide that 
parliament set Ofcom the wrong exam question and that we should spend 
less on and get less of public service television."

He also said the £300m ear-marked for the new publid service publisher 
would stop the money "bleeding" out of the PSB system, although he 
added the funding mechanism for the channel would be a matter for the 
government. This could include general taxation, an enhanced licence 
fee or from a levy on broadcasters.

The Ofcom chief said the outline plan for the service could see 
three-hours-a-day of programming, at the cost of £150,000 an hour, 
which would have re-versioned content for mobile phones and spin-off 
material like interactive and archive.

He highlighted the genres of high-quality drama, comedy, natural 
history, documentary and current affairs and said that the programmes 
could be multiplexed creating something like a "video-on-demand" model. 
It could also be showcased on other channels.

Carter said: "We believe that competition for quality and innovation 
will refresh this country’s public service broadcasting in the digital 
and multimedia age; and that a competed-for public service publisher is 
the best way to inject those virtues."

  Source: broadcastnow.co.uk