Commercial broadcasters have expressed concerns that the government has essentially given permission for the BBC's commercial wing to enter in as many joint venture channels as it likes. Former culture minister Chris Smith told former BBC boss John Birt he needed government permission to launch any new channels – but it has only just materialised that this did not cover joint ventures. This means the BBC, who own half of the UKTV network, can launch any number of channels under than brand, or enter into deals with other commercial networks. Commercial rivals object because it means the BBC can use its large archive of programmes (which more or less fill the UKTV schedules) to compete in the commercial sector.
The loophole in the restrictions on BBC development only came to light when cable station The History Channel complained when the BBC and its commercial partner Flextech launched UK History, cashing in on the current popularity of history programmes. The new channel is available via the BBC's Freeview platform as well as Sky and cable. With a high profile marketing push and exclusive access to a large library of programmes the History Channel argue the new BBC backed channel has commercial dominance on the back on its licence funded operations.
Writing to culture minister Tessa Jowell, History Channel MD Geoff Metzger said: "I hope you will share my deep concern that the BBC once again seems to have been given highly preferential treatment by the DCMS, putting them at a significant commercial advantage over the private sector". He goes on to ask Jowell to regulate BBC Worldwide (the commercial bit) through the new media super-regulator Ofcom.