Diversity Of Media Ownership And Channel 5

EDM number 1036 in 1994-95, proposed by Toby Jessel on 26/04/1995.

That this House is concerned about the concentration of media ownership in Britain in the hands of foreign companies; believes in the need to update media ownership controls whilst ensuring continuing diversity of ownership; notes the management control exercised by News International over British Sky Broadcasting, as well as its ownership of over a third of the British national press; notes also the intention of a consortium led by British Sky Broadcasting to bid for the Channel 5 licence; notes that BSkyB is planning to provide the Chief Executive for the consortium and the value which would accrue to BSkyB from cross-promotion with a terrestrial channel; recognises the undesirability of BSkyB, already the commercial broadcaster with the biggest revenue in Britain, having management involvement in Channel 5; calls upon the Independent Television Commission to give due weight to the quality of programme plans in applications for the Channel 5 licence; and draws attention to the undesirability of news being provided by an organisation controlled by the United Kingdom's biggest press owner and to the desirability of maintaining diversity in the ownership of the British media.

This motion has been signed by a total of 9 MPs.