Explanatory note

The Order disapplies, or modifies the application of, certain provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (“the Act”) in relation to the multiplex licences to be granted in respect of the frequencies on which capacity is reserved for the broadcasting of Channel 3, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C in digital form. It is divided into three parts; Part I is concerned with matters of interpretation.

Part II relates to the multiplex licence under which Channel 3, Channel 4 and the public teletext service will be broadcast in digital form. It disapplies sections 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Act in respect of that multiplex licence and replaces them with broadly similar provisions. Article 3, which replaces section 7 of the Act, sets out the form of notice to be published by the Independent Television Commission (“the ITC”) and the form of application for the licence. Article 4, which replaces section 8 of the Act, lays down the grounds on which the ITC may refuse an application for the licence and specifies what the ITC must publish in relation to the award of the licence. Article 5 modifies sections 11, 12, 13 and 16 of the Act. Article 6 provides for the ITC to vary the analogue licences under which Channel 3 and Channel 4 are provided so as to impose an obligation to provide those services in digital form. Article 7 specifies that the holders of any digital programme service licences or digital additional service licences to be broadcast under the licence must be controlled (directly or indirectly) by Channel 3 or Channel 4.

Part III relates to the multiplex licence under which Channel 5 and S4C will be broadcast in digital form. Article 8 provides that the notice published by the ITC under section 7(1) of the 1996 Act in respect of the licence must specify the amount of digital capacity to be reserved for the broadcasting of Channel 5 and S4C in digital form and states that the application must contain proposals for the broadcasting of those services. It also gives the ITC a discretion to refuse to award the licence to an applicant who would not provide Channel 5 and S4C free-from-air to viewers. Article 9 provides that an additional condition must be included in the licence to ensure that the digital capacity reserved for those services is used for broadcasting them, subject to the appropriate payments being agreed. Article 10 provides for the ITC to vary the analogue licence under which Channel 5 is provided so as to impose an obligation to provide that service in digital form.