Thursday 31 January 2008

Stake out

A busy week for the campaign and for ITV. First came the ruling on BSkyB's stake which was greeted with warmth by the company. As the NUJ made clear..."If the intention of buying such a large stake in ITV was to neuter the broadcaster and reduce its ability to recover, then the purchase of 17.9% of the stock has been spectacularly successful; although at a cost of approx £250m only those with seriously deep pockets need apply. Today's decision, although limiting BSkyB's involvement in ITV, will not repair the fragile state of the broadcaster. ITV management still intends to make drastic cuts to its local and regional news services. We remind Ofcom that it has the power to put a stop to these disastrous cutbacks and urge it to do so."
..Other news this week: a trip to Ofcom to discuss it's annual plan found not a soul from the crucial PSB Review on the panel. What priority does Ofcom put on this piece of work for the year ahead..? Plus, you might also like to look at this story which has emerged about Border television - interesting developments indeed...

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