±±¾©Èü³µpk10

In the fallout of the Hutton Inquiry and the spectacular exit of Greg Dyke from the BBC, critics of the Corporation's operational practices are hoping to find a more sympathetic ear for their pleas to level the playing field.

Serious questions are now being posed as to the efficacy of the BBC's self-regulated management structure, with the way the BBC is regulated and funded at the top of advertisers' agenda.

Mick Desmond, ITV's chief executive of broadcasting and enterprises, professes to want a "strong" BBC, but believes it should be independently regulated, and proposes a Channel 4-like structure, with a board of directors, but with activities regulated by Ofcom.

"What we want is objectivity and a level playing field," he said. "Why shouldn't the BBC's public service remit be set and monitored by the same regulator as ITV and Channel 4?"

How the BBC is regulated will be a key issue, and keen debate, in the run-up to the BBC's Charter Renewal, and a review of its licence-fee funding, in 2006.

The Conservative Party has proposed abandoning the licence fee and funding the BBC by paid subscription, or advertising. The latter option is a non-starter, according to Nick Theakstone, head of investment at MindShare.

"There isn't enough advertising to go around. Programming budgets would be cut drastically, and UK TV would be dumbed down," he said.

"The BBC should deliver on its public service remit, not put out EastEnders four or five times a week. Under Dyke, the BBC went for ITV's jugular and got away with it."

The Hutton Inquiry aside, Dyke's four-year tenure at the Beeb has been a huge success, if measured in terms of BBC's share of viewing.

But Dyke also resurrected the digital terrestrial TV platform from the ashes of ITV Digital, with Freeview. It is already posing concerns for Sky, with the vast majority of the 2.7 million people who have access to Freeview using it as their sole digital platform.

Dyke's digital commitment is evidenced by the plethora of digital channels launched during his era, from BBC Three and BBC Four to CBBC and CBeebies.

Commercial broadcasters and advertisers complain that by doing this, the BBC has not widened the viewing choice but merely replicated existing commercial programming. They also claim it has an unfair competitive advantage in the largesse of its licence fee-funded digital budgets.

The government has welcomed the BBC's digital impetus, but some ministers have criticised its aggressive commercial approach. They argue that Dyke, who honed his competitive instincts at ITV, is obsessed with chasing ratings and has weakened the BBC's public service remit.

Bernard Balderston, Procter & Gamble's associate director of media, expects the BBC to get a rougher ride from the government in future. "We are currently debating all the issues through ISBA and expect an industry response in the spring."