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Section 265: Public service remits of licensed providers

Communications Act 2003 · 2003 c. 21View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 3: Television and Radio Services ETC — Chapter 4: Regulatory provisions

The regulatory regime for every licensed public service channel ... includes a condition requiring the provider of the channel ... to fulfil the public service remit for that channel ....

The public service remit for every Channel 3 service and for Channel 5 is to make available a range of high quality and diverse audiovisual content—

which is all capable of being taken into account for the purpose of determining the extent to which the public service remit for television in the United Kingdom is fulfilled (see section 264(7) to (8C)), and
which, considered as a whole, constitutes an adequate contribution to the fulfilment of that remit.

The public service remit for Channel 4 is to make available a broad range of high quality and diverse audiovisual content—

which, in particular—
demonstrates innovation, experiment and creativity in the form and content of programmes,
appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society,
includes a significant quantity and range of programmes of an educational nature and other programmes of educative value, and
exhibits a distinctive character,
which is all capable of being taken into account for the purpose of determining the extent to which the public service remit for television in the United Kingdom is fulfilled, and
which, considered as a whole, constitutes an adequate contribution to the fulfilment of that remit.

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In this section, a reference to making available audiovisual content, in relation to a licensed public service channel, is a reference to the provider of that channel making available audiovisual content.

Section 264(13) applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of section 264.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.