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18|09|06

Ofcom begins Market Impact Assessment of the BBC’s new on-demand proposals

Ofcom today published the Terms of Reference for its first Market Impact Assessment (MIA) of new BBC services. It will examine the likely market impact of four BBC new on-demand services, including BBC iPlayer, which enable consumers to view live and recent BBC television over the internet, cable and IPTV and download audio content over the internet.

The Government’s Charter and Agreement on the future of the BBC proposed that all new or substantially changed BBC services should be subject to a Public Value Test (PVT) by the BBC Trust.

The PVT consists of a Public Value Assessment, performed by the BBC Governance Unit, and a Market Impact Assessment carried out by Ofcom. The MIA is intended to ensure that the BBC’s new services are consistent with the development of a vibrant and dynamic commercial sector.

On 31 August the BBC announced that it had begun work on its Public Value Test of the BBC’s new on-demand services. Ofcom will deliver its MIA to the BBC Governors by 15 December 2006 and it is expected that the results of the MIA will be published alongside the BBC Trust’s preliminary conclusions in early 2007.

The Terms of Reference have been agreed by a joint steering group which includes representatives from the BBC Governors and Ofcom, and are published at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/tv/bbcmias/ondemand/. A press release was also published by the BBC today - it can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice.

Ends.

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