The move, which would give Ofcom limited power in a number of areas, was mooted yesterday in a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference by culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
She said she was contemplating a number of areas of the BBC over which Ofcom could have some regulatory control. These include the broadcaster's plans for new services.
"What we have to address is the relationship between the BBC governors and Ofcom. The role of Ofcom's advice, for instance, in decisions about new services is something that we ought to explore. There are at least three other areas I am sure that we could begin to identify," Jowell said.
Aides later suggested that another possibility would be for Ofcom to regulate on sensitive programming issues. In this case, viewers who had complained to BBC governors could appeal to Ofcom if they were unsatisfied with the governors' decision.
The news has been welcomed by shadow culture secretary Tim Yeo, who said the Government was "moving in the right direction".
The Government has come under fire from the commercial sector, which has been lobbying for the BBC to be brought under the authority of Ofcom.
The news is unlikely to go down well at the BBC. Gavyn Davies, the recently appointed chairman of the BBC, has thrown his support behind the BBC governors. Davies defended the governors' role and said he would fight to keep the broadcaster under their control.
He said while Ofcom could criticise the BBC, it could not implement structural changes in the same way as its governors. He said the governors were there to be held accountable should any problems arise.
Davies also criticised the commercial sector for putting pressure on the BBC to be controlled by Ofcom. He believes the commercial sector "wants a smaller BBC" that would pose less of a threat to their business.
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