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Section 286: Regional programme-making for Channels 3 and 5

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 Channel 3 service includes the conditions (if any) that OFCOM consider appropriate in the case of that service for securing in each year—

that the provider of that service makes available qualifying audiovisual content that, so far as it consists of Channel 3 programmes made in the United Kingdom, includes Channel 3 programmes made outside the M25 area;
that the duration (in total) of the Channel 3 programmes that are made in the United Kingdom outside the M25 area is at least the number of hours that OFCOM consider appropriate;
that those programmes (taken together) constitute what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable range of programmes;
that what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable amount of the expenditure of the providers of Channel 3 services on Channel 3 programmes made in the United Kingdom is referable to programme production at different production centres outside the M25 area; and
that the different programme production centres to which that expenditure is referable constitute what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable range of such production centres.

In the case of a national Channel 3 service, subsection (1) requires the inclusion of conditions in the licence for the service only where OFCOM consider, having regard to the nature of the service, that it would be appropriate for conditions falling within that subsection to be so included.

The regulatory regime for Channel 5 includes the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for securing in each year—

that the provider of that Channel makes available qualifying audiovisual content that, so far as it consists of programmes made in the United Kingdom, includes programmes made outside the M25 area;
that the duration (in total) of the programmes that are made in the United Kingdom outside the M25 area is at least the number of hours that OFCOM consider appropriate;
that those programmes (taken together) constitute what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable range of programmes;
that what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable amount of the expenditure of the provider of Channel 5 on programmes made in the United Kingdom for viewing on that Channel , or for viewing by means of any other qualifying audiovisual service provided by the provider of that Channel, is referable to programme production at different production centres outside the M25 area; and
that the different programme production centres to which that expenditure is referable constitute what appears to OFCOM to be a suitable range of such production centres.

Before imposing a condition under this section, OFCOM must consult the person on whom it is to be imposed.

The requirement to consult is satisfied, in the case of the imposition of a condition by way of a variation of a licence, by compliance with section 3(4)(b) of the 1990 Act (obligation to give opportunity to make representations about variation).

An amount of expenditure is not to be regarded by OFCOM as suitable for the purposes of a provision of this section if it constitutes less than a significant amount of the expenditure in question.

In this section—

  • "Channel 3 programmes" means programmes made for viewing on Channel 3 , or for viewing by means of any other qualifying audiovisual service provided by a provider of a Channel 3 service, in more than one area for which regional Channel 3 services are provided, including any programme made for viewing on a national Channel 3 service other than a regional programme;

  • "expenditure", in relation to a programme, means—

    (a)expenditure which constitutes an investment in or is otherwise attributable to the making of the programme; or

    (b)expenditure on the commissioning or other acquisition of the programme or on the acquisition of a right to include it in a service or to have it broadcast;

  • "programme" does not include an advertisement; and

  • "regional programme" means a programme made with a view to its inclusion in a national Channel 3 service as a programme of particular interest to persons living within a particular area of the United Kingdom.

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

About this text

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.