Part I Independent Television Services

Chapter 1 Regulation by Commission of Television Services Generally

Establishment of Independent Television Commission

1 The Independent Television Commission

(1) There shall be a commission to be called the Independent Television Commission (in this Part referred to as “the Commission”).

(2) The Commission shall consist of—

(a) a chairman and a deputy chairman appointed by the Secretary of State; and

(b) such number of other members appointed by the Secretary of State, not being less than eight nor more than ten, as he may from time to time determine.

(3) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Commission.

Function of Commission

2 Regulation by Commission of provision of television services

(1) It shall be the function of the Commission to regulate, in accordance with this Part, the provision of the following services, namely—

(a) television programme services which are provided from places in the United Kingdom by persons other than the BBC and the Welsh Authority, and

(b) additional services which are provided from places in the United Kingdom,

and to regulate, in accordance with Part II, the provision of local delivery services (within the meaning of that Part) which are so provided.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Commission—

(a) to discharge their functions under this Part and Part II as respects the licensing of the services referred to in subsection (1) in the manner which they consider is best calculated—

(i) to ensure that a wide range of such services is available throughout the United Kingdom, and

(ii) to ensure fair and effective competition in the provision of such services and services connected with them; and

(b) to discharge their functions under this Part as respects the licensing of television programme services in the manner which they consider is best calculated to ensure the provision of such services which (taken as a whole) are of high quality and offer a wide range of programmes calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests.

(3) Subsection (2)(a)(ii) shall not be construed as affecting the discharge by the Director General of Fair Trading, the Secretary of State or the Monopolies and Mergers Commission of any of his or their functions in connection with competition.

(4) In this Part—

• “additional service” has the meaning given by section 48(1); and

• “television programme service” means—

(a) a television broadcasting service (as defined by subsection (5));

(b) a non-domestic satellite service (as defined by section 43(2)); or

(c) a licensable programme service (as defined by section 46(1)).

(5) In this Part “television broadcasting service” means (subject to subsection (6)) a service consisting in the broadcasting of television programmes for general reception in, or in any area in, the United Kingdom, including a domestic satellite service (as defined by section 43(1)).

(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to any teletext service or any other service in the case of which the visual images broadcast in the service consist wholly or mainly of non-representational images, that is to say visual images which are neither still pictures nor comprised within sequences of visual images capable of being seen as moving pictures.

General provisions about licences

3 Licences under Part I

(1) Any licence granted by the Commission under this Part shall be in writing and (subject to the provisions of this Part) shall continue in force for such period as is provided, in relation to a licence of the kind in question, by the relevant provision of Chapter II, III, IV or V of this Part.

(2) A licence may be so granted for the provision of such a service as is specified in the licence or for the provision of a service of such a description as is so specified.

(3) The Commission—

(a) shall not grant a licence to any person unless they are satisfied that he is a fit and proper person to hold it; and

(b) shall do all that they can to secure that, if they cease to be so satisfied in the case of any person holding a licence, that person does not remain the holder of the licence;

and nothing in this Part shall be construed as affecting the operation of this subsection or of section 5(1) or (2)(b) or (c).

(4) The Commission may vary a licence by a notice served on the licence holder if—

(a) in the case of a variation of the period for which the licence is to continue in force, the licence holder consents; or

(b) in the case of any other variation, the licence holder has been given a reasonable opportunity of making representations to the Commission about the variation.

(5) Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) does not affect the operation of section 41(1)(b); and that subsection shall not authorise the variation of any conditions included in a licence in pursuance of section 19(1) or 52(1) or in pursuance of any other provision of this Part which applies section 19(1).

(6) A licence granted to any person under this Part shall not be transferable to any other person without the previous consent in writing of the Commission.

(7) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (6), the Commission shall not give their consent for the purposes of that subsection unless they are satisfied that any such other person would be in a position to comply with all of the conditions included in the licence which would have effect during the period for which it is to be in force.

(8) The holding by any person of a licence to provide any service shall not relieve him of any requirement to hold a licence under section 1 of the [1949 c. 54.] Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 or section 7 of the [1984 c. 12.] Telecommunications Act 1984 in connection with the provision of that service.

4 General licence conditions

(1) A licence may include—

(a) such conditions as appear to the Commission to be appropriate having regard to any duties which are or may be imposed on them, or on the licence holder, by or under this Act;

(b) conditions requiring the payment by the licence holder to the Commission (whether on the grant of the licence or at such times thereafter as may be determined by or under the licence, or both) of a fee or fees of an amount or amounts so determined;

(c) conditions requiring the licence holder to provide the Commission, in such manner and at such times as they may reasonably require, with such information as they may require for the purpose of exercising the functions assigned to them by or under this Act;

(d) conditions providing for such incidental and supplemental matters as appear to the Commission to be appropriate.

(2) A licence may in particular include conditions requiring the licence holder—

(a) to comply with any direction given by the Commission as to such matters as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified; or

(b) (except to the extent that the Commission consent to his doing or not doing them) not to do or to do such things as are specified in the licence or are of a description so specified.

(3) The fees required to be paid to the Commission by virtue of subsection (1)(b) shall be in accordance with such tariff as may from time to time be fixed by the Commission; and the amount of any fee which is to be so paid by the holder of a licence of a particular class or description shall be such as to represent what appears to the Commission to be the appropriate contribution of the holder of such a licence towards meeting the sums which the Commission regard as necessary in order to discharge their duty under paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 1 to this Act.

(4) A tariff fixed under subsection (3) may specify different fees in relation to different cases or circumstances; and the Commission shall publish every such tariff in such manner as they consider appropriate.

(5) Where the holder of any licence—

(a) is required by virtue of any condition imposed under this Part to provide the Commission with any information, and

(b) in purported compliance with that condition provides them with information which is false in a material particular,

he shall be taken for the purposes of sections 41 and 42 to have failed to comply with that condition.

(6) Nothing in this Act which authorises or requires the inclusion in a licence of conditions relating to any particular matter or having effect for any particular purpose shall be taken as derogating from the generality of subsection (1).

5 Restrictions on the holding of licences

(1) The Commission shall do all that they can to secure—

(a) that a person does not become or remain the holder of a licence if he is a person who is a disqualified person in relation to that licence by virtue of Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act; and

(b) that any requirements imposed by or under Parts III to V of that Schedule are complied with by or in relation to persons holding licences in relation to which those requirements apply.

(2) The Commission may accordingly—

(a) require any applicant for a licence to provide them with such information as they may reasonably require for the purpose of determining—

(i) whether he is such a disqualified person as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a),

(ii) whether any such requirements as are mentioned in subsection (1)(b) would preclude them from granting a licence to him, and

(iii) if so, what steps would be required to be taken by or in relation to him in order for any such requirements to be complied with;

(b) revoke the award of a licence to a body where a relevant change takes place after the award, but before the grant, of the licence;

(c) make the grant of a licence to any person conditional on the taking of any specified steps that appear to them to be required to be taken as mentioned in paragraph (a)(iii);

(d) impose conditions in any licence enabling them to require the licence holder, if a body corporate, to give to them advance notice of proposals affecting—

(i) shareholdings in the body, or

(ii) the directors of the body,

where such proposals are known to the body;

(e) impose conditions in any licence enabling them to give the licence holder directions requiring him to take, or arrange for the taking of, any specified steps appearing to them to be required to be taken in order for any such requirements as are mentioned in subsection (1)(b) to be complied with.

(3) Where the Commission—

(a) revoke the award of any licence in pursuance of subsection (2)(b), or

(b) determine that any condition imposed by them in relation to any licence in pursuance of subsection (2)(c) has not been satisfied,

any provisions of this Part relating to the awarding of licences of the kind in question shall (subject to subsection (4)) have effect as if the person to whom the licence was awarded or granted had not made an application for it.

(4) Those provisions shall not so have effect if the Commission decide that it would be desirable to publish a fresh notice under this Part in respect of the grant of a licence, or (as the case may be) a further licence, to provide the service in question.

(5) Every licence shall include such conditions as the Commission consider necessary or expedient to ensure that where—

(a) the holder of the licence is a body, and

(b) a relevant change takes place after the grant of the licence,

the Commission may revoke the licence by notice served on the holder of the licence and taking effect forthwith or on a date specified in the notice.

(6) The Commission shall not serve any such notice on the licence holder unless they have given him a reasonable opportunity of making representations to them about the matters complained of.

(7) In this section “relevant change”, in relation to a body to which a licence has been awarded or granted, means—

(a) any change affecting the nature or characteristics of the body, or

(b) any change in the persons having control over or interests in the body,

being (in either case) a change which is such that, if it fell to the Commission to determine whether to award the licence to the body in the new circumstances of the case, they would be induced by the change to refrain from so awarding it.

General provisions about licensed services

6 General requirements as to licensed services

(1) The Co