Broadcasting Act 1990

24 Channel 4 to be provided by Corporation as licensed service. U.K.

(1) The function of the Corporation shall be to secure the continued provision (subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Part) of the television broadcasting service known as Channel 4.

(2) All the shares in the body corporate referred to in section 12(2) of the 1981 Act (activities to be carried on by subsidiary of Independent Broadcasting Authority) shall vest in the Corporation on 1st January 1993.

(3) Channel 4 shall be provided by the Corporation under a licence granted to them by the Commission, and shall be so provided for so much of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland as may from time to time be reasonably practicable.

(4) The licence to be granted to the Corporation by the Commission in pursuance of subsection (3) shall continue in force for a period of ten years beginning with 1st January 1993, and may be renewed by the Commission on one or more occasions for a period of ten years beginning with the date of renewal.

[F1 (5) The Corporation shall also have power—

(a) (subject to and in accordance with Part I of the Broadcasting Act 1996) to arrange for the broadcasting of Channel 4 in digital form in any part of the United Kingdom as a qualifying service (within the meaning of that Part), and

(b) to establish qualifying companies, to purchase or otherwise acquire shares, stocks or other securities of qualifying companies and to assist any qualifying company.

(6) In subsection (5)(b) “qualifying company” means any company (whether incorporated under the law of the United Kingdom or of any other country) which is or will be wholly or mainly engaged in one or more of the following activities—

(a) the provision of one or more services which are licensed by the Commission or by the Radio Authority or which, if provided in the United Kingdom, would be required to be so licensed,

(b) activities incidental to such provision, and

(c) the holding of shares in any other company which is wholly or mainly engaged in such provision or in activities incidental to such provision.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 24(5)(6) inserted (1.10.1996) by 1996 c. 55, s. 84(1); S.I. 1996/2120, art. 4, Sch. 1