News Archive - 2023
2023
The Public Bill Committee considers the Bill over the course of six sittings, and technical Government amendments are made (with no Opposition amendments agreed). The Bill, as amended by the Committee, is published.
The Bill has its second reading in the House of Commons.
Updated Version of the Media Bill introduced to the House of Commons
On the 8 November 2023, the updated Media Bill is introduced to the House of Commons by the UK Government.
King’s Speech confirms the Media Bill
The King’s Speech today has confirmed the Government’s commitment to move forward with comprehensive media reform.
DCMS Select Committee publishes its Final Report on the draft Media Bill
The DCMS Select Committee (the “Committee”) published its Final Report on the draft Media Bill (the “Bill”) on 22 September 2023, in which the Committee called on the Government to make several significant changes to the Bill.
Consultation on EPG Regulation
On 20 September 2023, Lucy Frazer, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announced a new consultation on the regulation of additional electronic programme guides, which was published on the same day. The 8-week consultation, which is open until 15 November 2023, is focused on (1) the impact of regulating EPGs, and (2) the proposed approach for defining which EPGs should be regulated - which in turn will impact the services that appear on them (i.e. FAST channels) as channels that appear on regulated EPGs require an Ofcom licence.
DCMS Select Committee Report on Draft Media Bill: Radio Measures
On 21 July 2023, the DCMS Select Committee published its report on the radio measures found in the draft Media Bill. The Committee has stated that it was these measures that drew the most contention during the evidence phase of the draft Bill’s pre-legislative scrutiny.
The DCMS Select Committee hears oral evidence from Ofcom, Voice of the Listener and Viewer, and representatives of the DCMS.
The Government releases its Impact Assessments of the draft Media Bill
On 29th June 2023, the Government published its impact assessments on the draft Media Bill. The purpose of the Impact Assessments is to assess the potential effects the draft Media Bill will have on the UK media industry and also the effectiveness of the draft Media Bill in achieving the Government’s policy objectives.
DCMS Select Committee questions Amazon, Netflix, Sky and Google
On 27 June 2023, as part of the next phase of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Media Bill, the DCMS Select Committee called representatives from Amazon, Sky, Netflix, Google, techUK and TuneIn to hear their views on the draft Media Bill.
On 20 June 2023, the DCMS Select Committee heard further oral evidence from the BBC, S4C, MG Alba, Radiocentre and UK Community Radio Network.
DCMS Select Committee hears oral evidence from executives at ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5
On 6 June 2023, as part of the next phase of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Media Bill, the DCMS Select Committee heard oral evidence from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
DCMS Select Committee publishes written evidence on the draft Media Bill
On 26 May 2023, the DCMS Select Committee published the written evidence submitted by industry stakeholders in response to the draft Media Bill. As part of its pre-legislative scrutiny, the Committee previously opened up the consultation on the draft Media Bill in April, with the deadline for written responses set at 17 May.
DCMS Select Committee invites comments on the draft Media Bill
Following the long-awaited publication of the draft Media Bill on 29 March 2023, the DCMS Select Committee is now entering a consultation period during which it is inviting industry views on the draft Bill as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. During this process, the Select Committee will examine the policy objectives of the draft Bill, identify any unintended consequences, and issue recommendations on how the draft Bill might be improved.
Accordingly, from now until 17 May 2023, interested parties may submit their positions on the draft Bill to the Select Committee for consideration and review via this link.
The Draft Media Bill is officially released by the Government
The Media Bill aims to support the UK’s public service broadcasters to drive skills and growth in the creative sectors. It also looks to streamline and modernise the regulatory framework affecting certain aspects of UK media so that content makers can deliver distinctive, diverse British content across multiple services, and audiences can more easily access and enjoy that content.
Want to learn about the Draft Media Bill’s journey up to it’s release on 29 March 2023? Check out our Timeline on the CMS Media Bill Tracker Homepage.
