ESSAY

Essay

Essay

The discipline required is to contemplate intervention only on the evidence of actual and serious harm to the interests of consumers: not merely because a regulator armed with a set of prejudices and a spreadsheet believes that a bit of tinkering here and there could make the world a better place.

In contrast, the authorities in the UK and their clients: those dependent agencies, entities and enterprises, which one way or the other have been made to rely on the largesse of the state - have refused to trust the people who matter - the people who pay the bills as customers and as tax-payers. Indeed, the defining characteristic of the UK broadcasting consensus is the absence of trust.

Although Ofcom's headquarters are in London it has a responsibility to look after the interests of consumers and citizens across the UK and needs to maintain links with the devolved political institutions as well as the UK Parliament. To ensure its close contact with the UK regions, Ofcom also has offices in Belfast (Northern Ireland), Cardiff (Wales) and Glasgow (Scotland), as well as a presence in the English regions - reflecting the UK's cultural diversity in a devolved political landscape. Ofcom's governance has been structured in line with the communication industries it regulates - with a unitary Board, a Chairman, [David (Lord) Currie] and a Chief Executive [Stephen Carter]. The Board takes collective responsibility for delivering Ofcom's remit under the Communications Act. The Ofcom Content Board is a sub-committee of the main Board, responsible for championing the interests of audiences. Ofcom also has advisory bodies such as the Consumer Panel, the Advisory Committee on Older and Disabled People, the Spectrum Advisory Board as well as separate advisory committees for the English Regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Yet there is an example right on our doorstep of the positive developments that come about when we encourage a world of trust and free choice. Within the next few months, the number of homes in the UK that enjoy some form of television that they freely choose to pay for will top fifty percent. This steady growth of choice-driven television has nothing to do with public policy. In fact, the authorities have consistently favoured so called free-to-air broadcasting. Yet, as you might expect, people who are used to paying for films, books, internet access and other quality content, do not see anything strange in paying for quality television too.

When pay-television began in this country, it did so largely by providing programmes in genres which public service broadcasting served inadequately: such as 24-hour news, and a broad choice of sport and the latest films. As originally with news and sport, so now with the arts and drama. Sky now offers four dedicated arts channels. Original commissioning by channels that customers choose to pay for is expanding and will continue to do so, not just from Sky but from the likes of National Geographic, History, MTV and the Disney Channel, to name a ...