Broadcasting Act 1996

2Meaning of “independent analogue broadcaster” and “qualifying service”

(1)In this Part “independent analogue broadcaster” means—

(a)the Channel Four Television Corporation,

(b)the Welsh Authority,

(c)any person who holds a Channel 3 licence or a Channel 5 licence, or

(d)the public teletext provider.

(2)Subject to subsections (4) and (5), in this Part “qualifying service” means any service which—

(a)is provided by an independent analogue broadcaster falling within paragraph (a) or (c) of subsection (1) who has notified the Commission, within the period of one month beginning with the commencement of this section, of his intention to provide a service specified in subsection (3) (“the corresponding analogue service”) for broadcasting in digital form, and

(b)as respects the programmes included in the service and the times at which they are broadcast, is identical with the corresponding analogue service.

(3)The services referred to in subsection (2) are—

(a)Channel 4, and

(b)any Channel 3 service or Channel 5.

(4)If the Welsh Authority notify the Commission, within the period of one month beginning with the commencement of this section, of their intention to provide S4C Digital, S4C Digital shall be a qualifying service for the purposes of this Part.

(5)If—

(a)the public teletext provider notifies the Commission, within the period of one month beginning with the commencement of this section, of his intention to provide a teletext service for broadcasting in digital form, and

(b)the Commission consent under section 30 to his provision of that service,

that service (in this Part referred to as “the qualifying teletext service”) shall be a qualifying service for the purposes of this Part.

(6)In this Part “public teletext provider” means the person who holds the additional services licence (within the meaning of Part I of the 1990 Act) which relates to the teletext service referred to in section 49(2) of that Act.

(7)In subsection (2) “programme” does not include an advertisement.