OfCom chief David Curries has implied that the media regulator is ready to relax some of ITV's public service commitments, ie the rules which force the third channel to air less commercially viable programming likes kids TV or local news, which is something ITV bosses have been pushing for.
According to Digital Spy, OfCom boss David Currie said yesterday: "ITV may overstate the costs and understate the benefits [of public service broadcasting. But] what is beyond doubt is that the value of PSB benefits is dropping rapidly and the point at which the costs of the public service obligations in a Channel 3 licence exceed the benefits will occur well before 2014; earlier in some C3 franchises notably Scotland. In these circumstances ITV plc's relationship with the Nations poses particular challenges. Political wishful thinking will not change those facts. People confuse Ofcom the messenger with the message. They assert we are 'letting ITV off' or have been hoodwinked. Far from it. We would be delighted if the numbers looked different. But they don't. The current down-turn will accentuate the pressures".
He continued: "So we need a clear-sighted view of what the public policy priorities are in relation to ITV. Whatever the future compact it will need to be much more limited, explicit and transparent than hitherto. And flexible. Tying regulatory benefits - spectrum assets - for years on end to an institution with fuzzy and meaningfully unenforceable public obligations seems a poor model for the rapid transition we expect in the media landscape over the next decade".