September 11th 2004
By: Luke
Spiked.com seem to think so.
In an interesting article entitled 'Commercial Brake' - Sandy Starr writes:
"Since its launch at the end of 2003, the 'unified regulator' the Office of Communications (Ofcom) has been happily banning advertisements."
Starr points out that responsibility for television advertising will shift in November 2004 to come under ...
September 10th 2004
By: Luke
House of Commons - Parliamentary Questions
Tabled Thursday 9 September for Answer Monday 13 September:
Norman Baker (Lewes):
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance she gives to Ofcom relating to regional programming by broadcasting companies.
September 9th 2004
By: Paul
Next Wednesday the Westminster Media Forum will be holding a seminar to discuss various issues concerning the proposed broadcasting code. Three Panel discussion groups will be held to discuss key issues:
Protecting vulnerable groups - Ofcom or Off-switch?
Is the UK ready for news with a viewpoint?
New forms of advertising - are ...
September 9th 2004
By: Ofcom Consumer Panel
From Colette Bowe, Chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel
Ofcomwatch's postings on the on-going development of Ofcom's consultation procedures have been read with great interest by the Consumer Panel.
Panel members have a keen interest in the processes Ofcom employs to seek the views and involvement of its many and varied stakeholders. ...
September 8th 2004
By: Russ
ZDNet calls for Ofcom to adopt PSTN-like standards for VoIP technologies. ZDNet also states that Ofcom's Stephen Carter needs to 'remember' that 'regulation is about making tough choices that upset vested interests for the greater good.' Really? And what is the greater good? Taking the article ...
September 8th 2004
By: Russ
I thought our readers would be interested in a follow-up to Luke's earlier post on the Ofcom consultation process and, in particular, his thoughts on 'comments on comments'. Here is the relevant FCC regulation for comparison purposes (cite = 47 C.F.R. sec. 1.415):
Sec. 1.415 Comments and replies. ...
September 8th 2004
By: Luke
FT reports:
The BBC has invited Time Warner, Bertelsmann and Walt Disney to discuss possible bids for BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial sales and publishing arm.
BBC executives believe the Worldwide division, which generated free cashflow of �141m ($250m) in the 12 months to March 31, could be worth up to �2bn.
But ...
September 7th 2004
By: Luke
Guardian - Stephen Carter: 360
Slightly embarrassing article in today's Guardian profiling Ofcom's CEO Stephen Carter. The article asks a load of ex-colleagues to rate him with marks out of ten in various 'key' areas of management expertise. Naturally, he gets a good write up.
Seems anyone with anything critical to say ...
September 6th 2004
By: Luke
Ofcom today published its approach to new voice services, including Voice over Broadband (VoB) phone services which deliver calls over the internet rather than via traditional telephone networks.
Ofcom believes that the emergence of these services will offer important benefits to consumers. Additionally, the comparatively low cost of the technology required ...
September 4th 2004
By: Luke
After getting approval from Ofcom, the Advert Channel is to start broadcasting on the Sky network next week.
In the spirit of convergence, the channel plans to earn most of its revenue from premium-rate phone services using promotions that charge callers about �1.50 a minute.
The channel should really put the nation's ...
