Task 1

The three main broadcasting bodies ITV, Channel 4 and BBC, are all regulated television channels. This means that there are restrictions and guidelines to what they can and cannot show, however there are several reasons why a channels programming turns out the way it is.


The BBC is a public service broadcaster, which refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than for purely commercial concerns. The BBC is funded by a license fee, this makes the BBC unique as no other channel is funded this way. With the BBC being publicly funded, it has certain responsibilities to broadcast a large range of interests, for example film, with 'Film 2012,' sport, with 'Match of the Day and religion with 'Songs of Praise,' the list could go on. This is partly the reason why you don't see shows like 'Geordie Shore' or 'Desperate Scousewives' on the BBC, as people who hate those shows (of which there are plenty) will have more to complain about as they are paying for it; whilst channels that do show those programs are given free rain as they don't have as much responsibility. 'Geordie Shore' for example is shown on MTV, the reason that they chose to broadcast a show like that is because it appeals to its channels target audience of teenagers to young adults.


Before the digital switchover there were just four terrestrial channels, or five depending on where you lived, they were BBC1 and 2,  ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Over time Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB grew becoming as powerful, if not more so, than the original channels. Sky was and is especially prominent when it comes to sport; gaining the rights to show all england cricket and almost all premier league football and would have gained all if they weren't allowed due to the fact that it would have become a monopoly, which UK TV laws don't allow, so the rest went to ESPN.


Ofcom is a government approved regulatory authority for all broadcasting industries in the UK. Its duty is to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by protecting the public from what they believe might be considered harmful or offensive material. In May 2011 Ofcom acted against 'Press TV,' an Iranian English-language satellite channel as they ruled that were responsible for a serious breach of UK broadcasting rules for airing an interview with Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek journalist arrested covering the Iranian presidential election in 2009, that was obtained by force while he was in jail.


The BBC operates under a royal charter, which is a document issued by a monarch, used to grant power or a right to certain organisations, that basically sets out its public purposes and shows that the BBC is placed in a higher regard than other media broadcasters. The current charter was put into force in 2007 and runs until 2016. At the top of the BBC is The Executive Board which manages the BBC. It is responsible for operational management and for the delivery of BBC services according to the plans that have been agreed with the BBC Trust. The Board is made up of executive directors from within the BBC and 5 non-executive directors from outside. It is chaired by the Director-General. The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC and is appointed by the BBC Trust. The other Board members are appointed by the Nominations Committee and Executive Board, with non-executive appointments requiring approval by the BBC Trust.




Under the charter the BBC is governed by the BBC trust, which sets the direction of the BBC and has a clear duty to represent the interest of licence fee payers. There are eight television channels run by the BBC; BBC1, 2, 3, 4, BBC HD, BBC1 HD, Parliament, News, CBBC and CBeebies. They have all these channels to fulfil their remit to educate, inform and entertain. The BBC news channel is used to inform, they educate with shows like the 'Learning Zone,' and entertain with the majority of their programming, and for all ages with CBBC and CBeebies.


The BBC owns 50% of UKTV, which is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC, they own channels such as Gold and Dave. These channels have the right to show shows that had their original run on the BBC such as 'Mock the Week' and 'Top Gear,' this is good for the BBC as it means that shows like those still have an audience, thus money.


Sky is a subscription funded service, this is another good way of generating money through broadcasting as it is a solid monthly payment, which is easy to entice people to paying for it as you can have a wide range of deals and specialist subscriptions which you couldn't offer with the like of pay per view or a licence fee.