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Section 198A: C4C's functions in relation to media content

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

Part 3: Television and Radio Services ETC — Chapter 1: The BBC, C4C , S4C and the Gaelic media service

C4C must participate in—

the making of a broad range of relevant media content of high quality that, taken as a whole, appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society,
the making of high quality films intended to be shown to the general public at the cinema in the United Kingdom, and
the broadcasting and distribution of such content and films.

C4C must, in particular, participate in—

the making of relevant media content that consists of news and current affairs,
the making of relevant media content that appeals to the tastes and interests of older children and young adults,
the broadcasting or distribution by means of electronic communications networks of feature films that reflect cultural activity in the United Kingdom (including third party films), and
the broadcasting or distribution of relevant media content by means of a range of different types of electronic communications networks.

In performing their duties under subsections (1) and (2) C4C must—

promote measures intended to secure that people are well-informed and motivated to participate in society in a variety of ways, and
contribute towards the fulfilment of the public service requirements (as defined in section 264A).

In performing their duties under subsections (1) to (3) C4C must—

support the development of people with creative talent, in particular—
people at the beginning of their careers in relevant media content or films, and
people involved in the making of innovative content and films,
support and stimulate well-informed debate on a wide range of issues, including by providing access to information and views from around the world and by challenging established views,
promote alternative views and new perspectives, and
provide access to material that is intended to inspire people to make changes in their lives.

In performing those duties C4C must have regard to the desirability of—

working with cultural organisations,
encouraging innovation in the means by which relevant media content is broadcast or distributed, and
promoting access to and awareness of services provided in digital form.

In this section—

  • "participate in" includes invest in or otherwise procure;

  • "relevant media content" means material, other than advertisements, which is included in any of the following services that are available to members of the public in all or part of the United Kingdom—

    (a)television programme services, additional television services or digital additional television services,

    (b)on-demand programme services, or

    (c)other services provided by means of the internet where there is a person who exercises editorial control over the material included in the service;

and a film is a "third party film" if C4C did not participate in making it.

The services that are to be taken for the purposes of this section to be available to members of the public include any service which—

is available for reception by members of the public (within the meaning of section 361); or
is available for use by members of the public (within the meaning of section 368R(4)).

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.