Media Act 2024

8 Quotas: independent productions

(1) Section 277 of the Communications Act 2003 (programming quotas for independent productions) is amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) The regulatory regime for every licensed public service channel includes the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that in each year—

(a) the provider of the licensed public service channel makes available qualifying audiovisual content that includes a range and diversity of independent productions commissioned in accordance with the provider’s commissioning code, and

(b) the duration (in total) of those independent productions is at least the number of hours specified by order of the Secretary of State.”

(3) In subsection (2), omit paragraph (a).

(4) Omit subsection (3).

(5) In subsection (5), for the words from “, in each year” to the end of the subsection substitute “—

(a) in each year, the provider of the licensed public service channel makes available qualifying audiovisual content that includes a range and diversity of independent productions commissioned in accordance with the provider’s commissioning code, and

(b) the cost (in total) of the acquisition of those independent productions is at least the amount specified in the order.”

(6) In subsection (8), in paragraph (b), for “the percentage” substitute “the number of hours or (as the case may be) the amount”.

(7) Omit subsection (9).

(8) Omit subsection (10).

(9) After subsection (12) insert—

“(12A) If a draft of a statutory instrument containing an order under this section would, apart from this subsection, be treated for the purposes of the standing orders of either House of Parliament as a hybrid instrument, it is to proceed in that House as if it were not such an instrument.”

(10) In subsection (13)—

(a) after the definition of “acquisition” insert—

• ““commissioning code”, in relation to a provider, means the code of practice drawn up by the provider in pursuance of conditions included in the provider’s licence by virtue of section 285;”;

(b) omit the definition of “programming budget” and the word “and” before it.

(11) After subsection (13) insert—

“(14) See also sections 278B and 278C (which make further provision for the interpretation of this section etc).”