LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 The UK government鈥檚 long-awaited pre-election communications white paper has left the BBC鈥檚 governors with their regulatory powers intact, as well as letting them off the hook for allowing the broadcaster to reschedule its news bulletin to 10pm, in direct competition with ITV鈥檚 news bulletin.
Culture and media secretary Chris Smith was understood to have been so furious at the BBC governors for allowing the change in the evening schedule he threatened to remove their powers.
The white paper had been expected to redefine the BBC鈥檚 remit as well as that of the nature of public service broadcasting in the UK. The government said, however, that it would not interfere.
Under the white paper, the governors will continue to rule on the public broadcaster鈥檚 remit as well as overseeing complaints from viewers about BBC programming. Consumers will have a further right of appeal to the new regulatory body Ofcom.
The paper introduces a three-tier structure for regulating broadcasters. The basic tier will apply to all broadcasters while the BBC and Channel 4 will be covered by further tiers for public broadcasters.
BBC chairman Sir Christopher Bland said in a statement, 鈥淭he BBC welcomes the white paper. It contains sensible proposals, which maintain the independence of the modern BBC within a common regulatory framework. It also emphasises the continuing importance of public service broadcasting in a changing and increasingly competitive environment.鈥
Channel 4, which is state-owned but funded by advertising, has been protected from privatisation by the paper. The paper says, 鈥淭he channel鈥檚 remit is to be reviewed to make it both more positive and to ensure that the service continues to provide distinctive and innovative programming in the future.鈥