Puttnam concerned over Communications Bill paradox

Lord Puttnam, chairman of the joint committee scrutinising the draft Communications Bill, has said he is "very puzzled by the direction" of the bill as he believes it will create a "paradox" in the relationship between the US and UK media industries.
Should the bill become law, the paradox will occur, according to the committee chairman, through US companies – safeguarded in a closed US market – being able to buy UK broadcast licences, whilst UK companies would be barred from similar ownership in America.
Lord Puttnam, a well-respected filmmaker who received an Academy Award for his film 'Chariots Of Fire', said on Monday: "The most aggressive market-driven country is the US, and it is not open. It is a paradox if you lift these restrictions without reciprocity. Where is the leverage? If we have no leverage, we can't create the rules. We are very puzzled by the suggestion and direction of this."
Lord Puttnam made his comments while reports were filtering through that a senior Viacom executive – owner of CBS – had held "introductory talks" with bosses at Granada and Carlton. Expressions of interest in the UK market have been made by a variety of non-EU companies in recent weeks.
Based on the views Lord Puttnam expressed, it seems likely that the joint committee will insist on a reciprocal move being made by the US over their own media ownership laws. The possibility that this will happen, however, is extremely unlikely according to the EU commissioner for culture.
The commissioner, Viviane Reding, in her evidence to the committee, said a deregulated US market was not on the cards. "The feedback we get is not on them wanting to open their market," she said.
The government will be a little dismayed over the comments from such an industry heavyweight like Lord Puttnam as the bill was personally overseen by Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Culture minister Tessa Jowell had told a Broadcasting Press Guild that the bill is part of government policy to encourage greater deregulation.
Lord Puttnam's committee was also declamatory over Rupert Murdoch's much-speculated interest in Channel 5 – a buy out of which would be allowed through provisions set out in the draft bill.
Rupert Murdoch – whose News International group owns The Times, The Sun, The Sunday Times and The News of the World – has long coveted a terrestrial licence in UK to supplement his dominant satellite broadcasting operation, BSkyB.
Newspaper groups are currently banned from owning broadcast licences, but the bill will remove any barriers for newspapers to own Channel 5. The committee believe there is an imbalance in the bill and is understood to be reticent about allowing Channel 5 to be treated differently to ITV.
Lord Puttnam will produce the committee's final report on August 7.
The draft Communications Bill can be viewed at, www.communicationsbill.gov.uk
(GMcG)