MAJOR BROADCASTERS FORM NEWS CONSORTIUM

FIVE major broadcasters and producers have announced that they are forming a consortium to challenge ITN for the contract to supply news output to ITV.
The five are BSkyB, Bloomberg, CBS, Chrysalis Group and Ulster TV. Each of the consortium's members will hold a 20 per cent stake in the company which will bid for the ITV contract.
The consortium are approaching the Independent Television Commission (ITC) as the first step towards becoming Nominated News Providers under the 1996 Broadcasting Act. They have also written to ITV spelling out their plans and asking for an early meeting.
A spokesman for the consortium said: “Our group believes there should be a strong element of healthy competition when the next ITV news supply contract is decided. Indeed we understand that ITV would welcome such competition. We are committed to developing a proposal for ITV based on the principles of high quality journalism. Our service would take a fresh and innovative look at the way news is produced and presented for ITV.
“The members of the consortium believe that their partnership will provide an extremely effective basis for mounting a challenge for the ITV news supply contract.
“They are committed to working together to develop an outstanding news service offering exceptional value for money as the centrepiece of their proposal to ITV. The membership of the consortium provides great strength in all areas of modern news gathering and production.” (CD)