1) Limiting the scope of CRR so that the rules only apply to the sale of airtime around ITV1's biggest shows. The Commission said that to achieve this, the sale of ITV1 airtime would need to be separated into regulated and unregulated parts - where the regulated parts would relate to delivering large audiences. However, it concedes such a separation of airtime sales would require separate contracts for each type of airtime. And it concedes there could be "considerable practical problems", including the need for a transitional period while separation took place.
2) Removing elements of CRR, such as parts of the obligation on ITV to roll over ad sales contracts. These so-called "roll overs" allow media agencies to keep the same terms and conditions from one year's deal to the next should they wish, while being allowed to cut spend based on ITV's share of commercial impacts. If this was removed, the Commission said it would require ITV's dealings with media buyers to be conducted "on fair and reasonable terms". But the commission added "this variation has a number of significant drawbacks. For example, it would be difficult to establish "a fair and reasonable test".
3) Not making major changes to CRR, but changing the definition of ITV1 in the CRR rules to allow ITV1 to capture more commercial impacts. The current definition of ITV1 does not include all methods of delivering the ITV1 programme schedule, for example an ITV1 high definition channel. As a result, the Commission said ITV is disincentivized from launching alternative ways of delivering ITV1, as impacts generated by these channels would not be counted towards ITV1's SOCI (share of commercial impacts).
4) Reforming the way ITV measures ITV1's market share so that it does not focus too heavily on maximizing ITV1's commercial impacts. The Commission said that at present ITV may generate impacts "in ways that are less than optimal for advertisers, for example generating daytime impacts, because peak-time programming is more expensive to produce".
5) Replacing SOCI as the main means of determining ITV1's ad rates. At present, if ITV1's SOCI falls, a media buyer may reduce its share of budget proportionately, while still being entitled to the discount it had been allowed under a higher share of budget. But the Commission said that this proportionate ratio, "may not appropriately reflect the relationship between the two". As a result, the Commission could change the rules so that, in the event that ITV1's SOCI fell, ITV's customers would be entitled to a lower automatic reduction in share of budget commitment to ITV1 than under the present formulation. The Commission believes this change would reduce ITV's incentive to focus primarily on maximising ITV1's SOCI.
6) Changing the TV ad trading season. At present the largest TV ad sales contracts are renegotiated each year. However, the Commission said "it was worth examining" whether more flexibility could be introduced into the negotiation process between ITV and media buyers, without setting out in detail how this might unfold.
What next? The Commission will consult on the changes until 6 October and hopes to unveil the final, definitive changes to CRR by the end of the year.
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