CURRENT UK CHANNEL 3 LICENCES RENEWED

THE ITC have now received formal applications from all existing Channel 3 licensees to renew their licences from 1 April 2001.
These formal expressions of interest from franchises including Border, Central, Channel, Grampian, Granada, LWT and Scottish now mean that all existing Channel 3 licensees have sought renewal. These licensees have provided the ITC with business plans and details of their proposed services to be provided over the next 10-year period of the licence. This will assist the ITC in determining the value of the renewed licence.
The ITC will take account of the costs and revenues associated with current licence obligations. Any firm commitments from licensees to improve upon these obligations, such as developing the programme service or increasing their commitment to training, will also be taken into account when the ITC set the amounts to be paid to Government by licensees over the next 10 years.
The licensee can either accept the financial terms set by the ITC or reject them, in which case the licence will be readvertised by competitive tender. The ITC say that the terms are not a matter of negotiation.