Media Act 2024

20 Categories of relevant service

(1) Section 98 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (categories of service) is amended as follows.

(2) For subsections (1) and (2) substitute—

“(1) For the purposes of this Part, relevant services are divided into two categories as follows—

(a) those relevant services which for the time being fall within subsection (1A) or (2A), and

(b) all other relevant services.

(1A) A television programme service falls within this subsection if it is—

(a) a service provided by the BBC or a BBC company otherwise than with a view to generating a profit,

(b) a Channel 3 service, Channel 4 or Channel 5,

(c) S4C Digital, or

(d) a service, other than a Channel 3 service, Channel 4, Channel 5 or S4C Digital, which is provided by the provider of one of those services or by a Channel 4 company, S4C company or body corporate controlled by the provider of a Channel 3 service or Channel 5,

and it satisfies the conditions in subsection (2).

(2) The conditions in this subsection are—

(a) that the television programme service may be received free of charge;

(b) that, in the case of a service described in subsection (1A)(d), the provider’s latest statement of programme policy under—

(i) section 266 or 267 of the Communications Act 2003, or

(ii) paragraph 4 of Schedule 12 to that Act,

states that the service will be used to fulfil the public service remit for the Channel 3 service, Channel 4 or Channel 5 or (as the case may be) S4C’s public service remit.

(2A) A relevant service falls within this subsection if—

(a) it is or forms part of a designated internet programme service,

(b) where it is a service that forms part of a designated internet programme service, it satisfies the conditions in subsection (2B), and

(c) it and the programmes included in it may be accessed free of charge.

(2B) The conditions are—

(a) that the relevant service is provided by—

(i) the BBC or a person associated with the BBC otherwise than with a view to generating a profit,

(ii) the provider of a Channel 3 service, Channel 4 or Channel 5,

(iii) S4C, or

(iv) a person associated with a broadcaster mentioned in sub-paragraph (ii) or (iii);

(b) that, where it is provided by the BBC or a person associated with the BBC, the service contributes to the promotion of one or more of the BBC’s public purposes;

(c) that, where it is provided by a broadcaster referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) or (iii) or a person associated with such a broadcaster, the broadcaster’s latest statement of programme policy under—

(i) section 266 or 267 of the Communications Act 2003, or

(ii) paragraph 4 of Schedule 12 to that Act,

states that the service will be used to fulfil the public service remit for the Channel 3 service, Channel 4 or Channel 5 or (as the case may be) S4C’s public service remit.

(2C) Where a relevant service would satisfy the conditions in subsection (2A) but for access to some of the programmes included in the service not being free of charge—

(a) so much of the service as includes programmes that may be accessed free of charge, and

(b) the remainder of the service,

are to be regarded as separate relevant services for the purposes of this Part.

(2D) Section 362AZ12(6) of the Communications Act 2003 (meaning of references to a person associated with a public service broadcaster) applies for the purposes of subsection (2B) as it applies for the purposes of Part 3A of that Act.”

(3) In subsection (3) (disregard of TV licence fee), after “subsection (2)(a)” insert “, (2A) or (2C)”.

(4) At the end insert—

“(7) In this Part, “relevant service” means—

(a) a television programme service;

(b) an on-demand programme service;

(c) a non-UK on-demand programme service;

(d) a service, or a dissociable section of a service, which has the following characteristics—

(i) its principal purpose is the provision of programmes;

(ii) the programmes it provides are accessed by means of the internet;

(iii) there is a person who has general control over what programmes are included in the service or the dissociable section of the service (see subsection (8));

(iv) it is made available by that person for use by members of the public;

(v) the members of the public who use the service, or the dissociable section of the service, are or include members of the public in the United Kingdom;

(vi) it is not a television programme service, on-demand programme service or non-UK on-demand programme service;

(vii) it is not a service of the kind described in section 362AA(10)(c) of the Communications Act 2003 (internet programme services which provide programmes by means of an on-demand programme service or non-UK on-demand programme service and at least one other service).

(8) The person by reference to whom the requirement in subsection (7)(d)(iii) is satisfied need not have control of the contents of individual programmes or of the distribution of the service.

(9) In this section, “programme” means such programme as is described in section 368ZA of the Communications Act 2003.”