LONDON (Brand Republic) - Plans by the government to protect the BBC from its proposed communications watchdog, Ofcom, are likely to be criticised today.
The Commons select committee for culture, media and sport is expected to urge Chris Smith, culture secretary, to reduce the BBC鈥檚 self-regulation in a report published in response to the government鈥檚 December communications white paper.
The white paper proposed the merging of media and telecommunications regulation into a single body called Ofcom. Under the new body, all broadcasters would be subject to a minimum content standards code as well as rules on advertising and sponsorship.
But while the committee is understood to be broadly supportive of the white paper, it objects to an allowance for BBC governors to retain control of editorial content. The committee, which is led by Labour backbencher Gerald Kaufman, believes the BBC should have regulation equal to that of commercial broadcasters.