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16|01|06

Minutes Of The Thirty-Fifth Meeting Of The Ofcom Content Board Held At The RiverSide House, London On 16 & 17 January 2006

Present

Philip Graf Chairman
Sara Nathan Deputy Chairman (minutes 1 - 54)
Sue Balsom Member
Floella Benjamin Member
Kevin Carey Member
Jonathan Edwards Member
Pam Giddy Member (minute 24 onwards)
Rosemary Kelly Member
Matthew MacIver Member
Kip Meek Chief Policy Partner (Ofcom)
Adam Singer Member
Tim Suter Partner, Content and Standards (Ofcom)
Kath Worrall Member

In Attendance

Graham Howell Secretary to the Corporation
Other Ofcom Colleagues

Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 & 13 December 2005 (Content Board Minutes 34(05)) and Matters Arising

1. The minutes of the Content Board meeting held on 12 & 13 December 2005 were AGREED, subject to a few small amendments.

2. The length and detail of Content Board minutes was raised. Members REQUESTED that the style be bought into line with that used for main Ofcom Board minutes.

Content and Standards Group Report

3. Tim Suter updated Members in relation to current Content and Standards people and policy issues.

4. Members REQUESTED that thought be given to whether Members of the Content Board should be involved in the Digital Dividend Review project.

Rolling Forward Plan of Content Board Agendas

5. Members NOTED the schedule CB 01(06) which set out the rolling forward plan of the Content Board agenda to April 2006.

6. Members REQUESTED that the visit to Oxford to look at the DVB-H Trial for mobile television take place in March.

Ofcom Board Meetings of 22 November & 6 December 2005

7. Members received a report on the Ofcom Board meetings held on 22 November and 6 December 2005, the contents of which were NOTED.

8. As a result of the report the following points were NOTED:

Digital switchover – [withheld from published minutes]
Review of the EPG Code – a review of the Code would take place in 2007 and this review would include work on liability issues under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Members’ Interests

9. One member declared an interest for incorporation into the register of interests.

Television Without Frontiers (TWF) Review – CB 02(06)

10. The Content Board received an update on the ‘Television Without Frontiers’ Directive review. The draft revised Directive had been published in December 2005 by the European Commission and Content Board members NOTED the key policy positions taken by Ofcom on the Directive’s proposals.

11. In addition, Members also NOTED the timetable for the review as the draft Directive is now subject to a co-decision process involving both the European Council and European Parliament. It is possible that it could take until the end of 2008 to complete the formal process and become law. The process for approval and adoption is, however, starting immediately with a series of fortnightly meetings of member state officials. In addition, there are a number of key events scheduled for 2006 involving Ofcom colleagues and a number of European visits are also being prepared. Members were also briefed on a number of meetings which have already taken place between Ofcom and a number of interested parties.

12. Content Board Members discussed the key issues and [withheld from published minutes].

13. Content Board members REQUESTED that a copy of the position paper being sent to MEPs in January also be circulated to them for information.

Television Quiz Channels

14. The Content Board received two presentations (one from Ofcom and one from ICSTIS) on the collaborative working between Ofcom and ICSTIS on complaints made about Television Quiz channels.

15. The year 2005 had seen a large increase in both dedicated channels and blocks of hours on generalist channels being devoted to quiz programming. Both Ofcom and ICSTIS had seen a sharp rise in complaints – nearly 500 to Ofcom in 2005 (some 140 of which had been passed to ICSTIS) – ranging from issues of pricing, clarity of correct answers, complexity or unfairness of the rules, ease of the competitions and minors taking part.

16. Members were reminded of the relevant Broadcasting Code Rules which particularly apply to these services -10.9, 10.10 and 2.11, and the separation of responsibility in investigating this issue between Ofcom and ICSTIS. It was NOTED that a Memorandum of Understanding between Ofcom and ICSTIS already existed.

17. Members were briefed on the ICSTIS consultation undertaken in September 2005 which suggested [withheld from published minutes].

18. [withheld from published minutes].

19. Members NOTED that ICSTIS was preparing to publish its Statement of Expectations as a result of the consultation at the end of January / early February and that it would be brought back to the Content Board in March for information. Members further NOTED that while the majority of issues these services raised were concerned with the promotion of premium rated telephone services and therefore fell under ICSTIS's remit, Ofcom as the regulator of broadcast content may need to produce its own guidance over the content of the programmes themselves.

Guidance Note for Programme Trailers & Promotions – CB 03(06)

20. A paper was presented highlighting the increasing trend to include stronger, more adult material in trailers (previews of programming on a channel) and promotions (promotions for the content service/channel itself or cross promotions for other services/channels) scheduled after the 21.00 watershed.

21. Members were reminded of Ofcom’s duties under the 2003 Communications Act regarding the protection of minors and ensuring adequate standards of protection are in place for harm and offence. In addition members were briefed on Rule 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code regarding ‘context’.

22. Members discussed the issues raised and [withheld from published minutes].

23. [withheld from published minutes].

24. Following consideration of the issues, Members APPROVED the publication of the Guidance Note attached, subject to the amendment that where the upcoming programme brought about a change in context away from stronger material that this was taken into account.

25. Members were encouraged to feed back any additional points they may wish to make on this outside of the meeting

Future of PSB Provision: delivering & funding PSB in the digital age – CB 04(06)

26. The Content Board was taken through a presentation on a proposal to undertake further work on the delivery and funding of PSB in the digital age. The PSB Review report, published in February 2005, reached a number of conclusions and highlighted three specific areas of activity that required further work. These proposed additional phases of work which would focus on the key changes taking place in broadcasting and communications and the implications for the future delivery of PSB. It was highlighted that this work would build on the issues considered in the PSB review undertaken during 2004/05 and would set the scene for further work on Channel 4 and the PSP. [withheld from published minutes]. Work on Phase 1 of this project has already commenced.

27. In response to the presentation the following comments from the Content Board were made: [withheld from published minutes]

28. Content Board members NOTED the proposed work to be undertaken this financial year and the outline proposals for 2006/07.

Convergent media and the implications for regulation – CB 05(06)

29. The Content Board received paper CB 05(06) outlining a project to enable Ofcom to consider how it will deliver its approach to content regulation maintain plurality and protect audiences against harmful content and the infringement of privacy in the future. The project is a substantial review of the impact of converged media and will help Ofcom to influence the debate over the future of content regulation.

30. Following discussion, the following comments were made by Members on the scope, staffing and timetable for the project as requested:

[withheld from published minutes].
Staffing - Members AGREED that this project provided a prime opportunity to involve people from a variety of perspectives and asked whether representatives from the Nations and Regions could also take part both in the project and as part of the team. In response it was explained that the consultation would be focussed principally on the convergence impacts on industry but the comments of Members were NOTED.
Timetable – Members NOTED the timetable for the project.
Across Ofcom working – Members asked to what extent the project would work with other Ofcom colleagues engaged on other Ofcom projects, for example those involved in the TWF Review. In response, it was confirmed that the project would draw on knowledge and expertise from across Ofcom and engage with a variety of related projects such as the TWF review.

31. Content Board members acknowledged that this project was a substantial project for Ofcom to undertake and extremely timely and valuable-there was no doubt that convergence within digital media technologies would transform the media environment over the coming decade and therefore transform the context in which Ofcom regulates by forcing the adoption of new approaches to content regulation and impacting on the level of regulatory intervention.

Adult Media Literacy Report – CB 09(06)

32. The draft Communications Plan for the revised Media Literacy launch date was tabled for members who were then briefed on the plans for publication, press briefings and stakeholder events. It was AGREED that the revised Communications Plan would be circulated to members once finalised. Members were also informed that the supplementary research relating to the Nations & Regions and ethnic diversity & children would be published together at a different date subsequent to the main launch.

33. Content Board members NOTED the report presented today and made the following comments:

It would be helpful to be more specific over what was meant by the term ‘white’ when describing groups of individuals.
It was AGREED that the communication of the report was vital to delivering the appropriate message and Members suggested that Ofcom hold a variety of different events to ensure the report reaches as wide an audience as possible making sure that there was effective use of the Directors of Nations and Regions in promoting the report.
It was REQUESTED that more emphasis be placed on the wording relating to Figure 1 on page 14, and that a correlation be drawn between the text and graph on page 62.

34. Content Board members thanked the Executive for the excellent report produced and NOTED the wide range of activity being undertaken.

35. Members were REQUESTED to send any additional comments / input into the report back to the Executive by close of play on 19th January. It was NOTED that the final report would be circulated to Members prior to the next meeting electronically.

Public Service Broadcasting: Tier 3 Assessments – CB 06(06)

36. The Content Board received the annual statements and review of public service television provision for the following:

ITV
ITV Nations & Regions
Channel 4
Five
GMTV
Teletext
Scottish and Grampian

37. The involvement of individual Content Board members in the analysis of the documentation was welcomed and Members were thanked for their input.

38. The principal issues resulting from the reviews were NOTED by the Content Board and the statements and review were ACCEPTED for each broadcaster subject to the following: [withheld from published minutes]

39. [withheld from published minutes].

40. Additionally, the Content Board discussed the process for this year’s Tier 3 Reviews. [withheld from published minutes]

Nutrient Profiling

41. The Content Board was briefed on the background to the development of the Nutrient Profiling model by [withheld from published minutes] from the Food Standards Agency (‘FSA’). [withheld from published minutes].

42. Members were informed of the consultation that was undertaken to develop the Model, of the criteria used to ‘score’ foods, and were given some example foods and scores so that the Model could be seen in practice. The essence of the proposal was that whether or not foods can be advertised on television in the future may depend on the nutrient profiling score they receive.

43. Members were also briefed on the criticisms of the Model, [withheld from published minutes] the FSA said that it is hoped that manufacturers will use the application of the nutrient profiling model as an opportunity to be innovative with their recipes and create healthier products or alternatives.

44. Clarification of how the Nutrient Profiling Model differs from food labelling was provided. Work has been undertaken by the FSA, as a separate workstream, on front of pack information, for example ‘traffic light’ schemes (.i.e. giving different colours to indicate the ‘healthiness’ of a product. Potentially, therefore, there could be two different nutrient profiling systems – one for packaging and another for TV advertising.

Content & Standards Report

45. The Content Board received an update on programmes which had been attracting complaints. The Content Board was also updated on the status of current Fairness and Content Sanctions cases.

46. In addition, members were also updated on the Fairness and Privacy consultation regarding the handling of fairness and privacy complaints. Members were informed that copies of the responses to the consultation are available, before the Content Board addresses them formally.

47. (The Fairness and Privacy Committee office holders praised the quality and quantity of work currently being undertaken by colleagues in both fairness and privacy and standards, which they felt was the best yet – amendment requested 06/02/06).

Radio Licensing Committee (5 January 2006)

48. Members were updated on the Radio Licensing Committee (RLC) meeting held on 5 January 2006.

49. It was AGREED that all radio related issues should be raised either at the Radio Licensing Committee (if within its remit) or at the Content Board.

External Communications

50. Members were briefed in relation to Ofcom’s recent activities and forthcoming announcements.

Any Other Business

51. Members were informed that the Secretary would be writing to them about proposed changes to the system for dealing with corporate credit cards; a new system had been introduced for Ofcom colleagues which would not be applicable to Members of the Content Board.

Date of Next Meeting

52. It was NOTED that the next meeting would be held on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February 2006 in Riverside House.

20 January 2006