Page 15 - Fujifilm Exposure_1 Michelle Pfeiffer_ok

C hannel 5 is here ... finally. It’s been a long expensive and occasionally controver- sial time coming but Britain’s newest (and probably last) non-cable terrestrial channel is now up and running. The Broadcasting Act of 1990 meant that the Independent Television Commission
(ITC) was required to set up a fifth UK channel broadcasting on UHF frequencies Ch35 and Ch37. The decision about who was actually to run it would be decided on the basis of competitive ten- der. Sounds simple? You must be joking.
The first time the ITC advertised in 1991, they got only one bid. For various reasons, they decid- ed not to grant it. By the time they had re-adver- tised in late 1994, two things had changed. Firstly, the government had decided that Ch35 was not to be used and, secondly, this time they got four bids.
These were UKTV, New Century Television (effectively Murdoch’s BSkyB and Granada), Virgin Television and the Channel 5 group, the last made up of European broadcast outfit CLT, United News & Media, American investment company Warburg, Pincus and publishing giant Pearson.
“Bids had to be in by midday on May 2, 1995,” recalls Roy Addison, Director of Communications for Pearson TV. “At three in the afternoon the ITC announced who had bid and how much.
“There was absolute pandemonium because New Century had bid only £2 million a year which was extraordinarily low and effectively ruled them out. The highest bid was UKTV with £36 million ... and then Channel 5 Broadcasting and Virgin Television bid exactly the same amount - £22,002,000 - which led to the most astonishing furore and allegations of collusion. All rather daft because nobody could say why two groups would collude to bid the same amount. It was just one of those extraordinary accidents,” says Addison.
The ITC ruled UKTV and Virgin Television out on quality grounds and in October 1995 issued Channel 5 Broadcasting a 10-year licence. Virgin tried to mount a legal challenge but in January 1996 the courts backed the ITC’s original decision.
“After that,” explains Addison, “we then got on with the process of retuning. Now, retuning was necessary for videos, satellite and cable equip- ment in areas of the country where our frequen- cies would cause interference.
“Initially we were given coverage on a wave- length [Ch37] which gave us a potential 70 per cent of the country. That was changed to 80 per cent after we lobbied the Department of Trade & Industry to give us an additional frequency [Ch35].
“That further 10 per cent meant that we had to extend the retuning process [one of the main reasons why Channel 5’s start date was moved from January 1 to March 30] but 10 per cent of the country is as much as satellite gets anyway, so it was a terrific bonus for us.”
Areas which are not getting Channel 5 include traditionally bad reception zones like mid-Wales and Scotland but also much of the South-East coast of England because of clashes with conti- nental emergency frequencies.
Addison continues: “We’re going on air with 90 per cent of our potential audience - 90 per cent of 80 per cent retuned and ready - and the ITC would expect us to fill in the rest as quickly as pos- sible. In the long term, our total coverage will probably go above the 80 per cent mark.
“Cable operators will at some stage take Channel 5. I’ve got relatives who live in Brighton who won’t get it unless their local cable station agrees to take it. There’s also talk of us taking a transponder on the Astra satellite system so satel- lite users may also be able to get us.”
With only 30 per cent of its output bought in (the other 70 per cent is specially commissioned from independent producers) fears of an American sit-com and Aussie soap-dominated channel have generally faded away.
It’s early days yet but the future looks bright for Channel 5. ■ CERI THOMAS
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