Athelstane Aamodt provides a media law update
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Ofcom announces its intention to end its “major parties” list; broadcasters given more freedom.
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Wade v British Sky Broadcasting Limited : The Court of Appeal deals with the rare instance of a television format case.
Ofcom (the Office of Communications, ie the media regulator in the UK) has published a consultation paper (10 November 2016) that makes two important proposals:
i. Larger parties
Ofcom’s list of larger political parties varies depending on which part of the UK one is considering, but very broadly the Ofcom list includes the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP, and the SNP, and these parties must be given “due weight”. Ofcom is proposing to cease using the large party definition and to give broadcasters editorial freedom to use their own information and judgment on this issue. To understand why this will matter, it is necessary to look at the rules governing political advertising.
In the UK wall-to-wall political advertising on television and radio is (mercifully) prohibited. Sections 319(2)(g) and 321(2) of the Communications
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