BBC RECEIVE COMPLAINTS FROM IPC

THE BBC have received five complaints between October 1 and December 31 according to the most recent Fair Trading Bulletin.
The Fair Trading Compliance Committee investigated a complaint from IPC Media that the publishing of the magazine Eve by BBC Worldwide and the trailing of both the Eve and Star magazines on BBC public services were in breach of the BBC’s Commercial Policy Guidelines.
The Committee found that the publication of Eve was consistent with the BBC’s Commercial Policy Guidelines and found that TV trails for both Eve and Star also complied with BBC Commercial Policy guidelines. These were broadcast within strict undertakings to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) since the content of the magazine complemented the programme and extended access to subject matter.
The Committee, however, believed that in the case of general interest magazines like Eve and Star, in future a more substantial connection with the programme than a single article should be required to justify a trail. Accordingly the Committee have required that further on-air trails for Eve or for Star cease, and that any future requests for trails will only be granted following the prior scrutiny of the BBC’s Controller, Fair Trading.
They also considered there was a potential for confusion between the Star magazine and Star, the stand alone entertainment slot within BBC One’s 'Live and Kicking' programme, since their separate identities had not been clearly established in viewers’ minds when the magazine was launched. Accordingly the Governors have asked for the magazine and the programme to use different names and branding.
This will mean that there will no longer be a programme slot in 'Live And Kicking' called Star.
Fair Trading Compliance Committee Chairman Gavyn Davies said: "The BBC are subject to the full rigour of UK and EU competition law, in an identical way to other UK organisations. Moreover, public funding and privileged access to the airwaves gives the BBC unique responsibilities. Whenever the BBC trades, they must do so fairly.
"We publish this regular bulletin setting out fair trading complaints received to increase the transparency of our scrutiny of fair trading.
Davies encouraged anyone who feels that the BBC have not lived up to the high standards expected, to write in, with the assurance that their concerns will be fully investigated and, where found to have weight, corrective actions would be taken. (CD)