According to IPA president Bruce Haines, the ad agency trade body had expressed three major areas of concern with regard to the proposed legislation -- and each had received an encouraging response in the report.
The issue of media consolidation is the issue that has raised most concerns and headlines. It was also the one at the top of the IPA's list of concerns. The IPA is worried that increased consolidation, including the possible creation of a single ITV and the sale of Channel 5 to Rupert Murdoch, could have an effect on media-buying agencies.
According to Haines: "Our first worry related to the ability of our media members to be able to buy competitively in the massively consolidated marketplace likely to result from the dropping of the current media ownership rules."
He added: "Here we were particularly pleased to see Lord Puttnam take direct note of our case -- underlining the value of examination of this area by the competition authorities and the imposition of appropriate measures."
The committee did not come out for the creation of a single ITV, but did support the government's plan to lift primary legislation and, more importantly, came out against Rupert Murdoch taking over Channel 5.
"At the heart of our conclusions and recommendations about media ownership is the proposal for a new plurality test to be used in connection with mergers and take-overs across all media. We hope that this recommendation will stimulate an important and timely debate. In due course, if parliament is satisfied that this powerful new weapon is being used effectively, the need for specific ownership restrictions set out in statute will greatly diminish," the report said.
On the issue of the BBC, the IPA reiterated its position on what it sees as the increasing commercial nature of the corporation and it welcomed the parliamentary committee's call to allow Ofcom some control over the BBC.
Haines said: "We have long stressed the dangers posed by an increasingly commercial BBC to the delicate balance of the UK's media ecology -- and the report's conclusion that the corporation should be subject to firm economic regulation from Ofcom to curb potentially anti-competitive activity is most welcome."
The IPA's final point of concern related to the call for self regulation to be extended from the non-broadcast to the broadcast sector.
"Along with ISBA and the Advertising Association, we have pushed for self regulation to be extended from the non-broadcast to the broadcast sector. Lord Puttnam's comments, here, underline that the battle is not yet won -- but the strong recommendation that the government should ensure that the final bill does not erect unnecessary barriers to the evolution of accredited self regulation is a vital first step," Haines said.
The bill has already been welcomed by advertiser body ISBA, which warmly greeted the report's finding that the bill be amended to give Ofcom a remit in relation to the BBC.
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