Communications Act 2003

214 Digital Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences

(1) This section applies to the grant by OFCOM, at any time on or after the television transfer date, of a licence under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to provide a Channel 3 service or to provide Channel 5.

(2) The licence must—

(a) be a licence to provide the licensed service with a view to its being broadcast in digital form; and

(b) contain such condition (if any) requiring the provider of the service to ensure that the whole or a part of the service is also provided for broadcasting in analogue form as OFCOM consider appropriate.

(3) The conditions included in a licence by virtue of subsection (2)(b) must be such as to enable effect to be given to any directions given from time to time by the Secretary of State to OFCOM about the continuance of the provision of services in analogue form.

(4) Where the licence contains a condition falling within subsection (2)(b), it must also contain a condition that—

(a) the programmes (apart from the advertisements) that are included in the service provided in analogue form, and

(b) the times at which they are broadcast,

are to be the same as in the case of, or of the specified part of, the service provided for broadcasting in digital form.

(5) The licence—

(a) must be a licence which continues in force, from the time from which it takes effect, until the end of the licensing period beginning or current at that time; and

(b) shall be renewable, on one or more occasions, under section 216.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) a licensing period is—

(a) the period beginning with the commencement of this section and ending with the initial expiry date; or

(b) any subsequent period of ten years beginning with the end of the previous licensing period.

(7) The licence must contain the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for the purpose of performing their duty under section 263.

(8) The conditions of the licence must also include conditions prohibiting the imposition, whether directly or indirectly, of the following—

(a) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom of the licensed service;

(b) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom of any service consisting in the provision of assistance for disabled people in relation to programmes included in the licensed service; and

(c) charges on persons in respect of their reception in the United Kingdom of any service (other than one mentioned in paragraph (b)) which is an ancillary service in relation to so much of the licensed service as is provided in digital form.

(9) It shall be unlawful to impose a charge in contravention of a condition imposed under subsection (8).