Section 235: Licensing of television licensable content services, Communications Act 2003

The licence that is required for the purposes of section 13 of the 1990 Act in respect of a television licensable content service is a licence granted under Part 1 of that Act on an application complying with this section.

An application for a licence to provide a television licensable content service—

must be made in such manner,

must contain such information about the applicant, his business and the service he proposes to provide, and

must be accompanied by such fee (if any),

as OFCOM may determine.

Where an application is made to OFCOM in accordance with subsection (2) for a licence to provide a television licensable content service, OFCOM are entitled to refuse the application only if—

they are required to do so by section 3(3) of the 1990 Act (licences to be held only by fit and proper persons);

they are required to do so by section 5 of the 1990 Act (restrictions on the holding of licences); or

they are satisfied that, if the application were to be granted, the provision of the service would be likely to involve contraventions of—

standards set under section 319 of this Act; or

the provisions of a code of practice in force under Part 5 of the 1996 Act (fairness).

The provision of more than one television licensable content service shall require a separate licence under Part 1 of the 1990 Act to be granted and held in respect of each service.

A single licence to provide a television licensable content service may authorise the provision of a service which consists (to any extent) of different programmes to be broadcast simultaneously, or virtually so.

A licence to provide a television licensable content service shall continue in force until such time as it is surrendered or is revoked in accordance with any of the provisions of this Chapter or of the 1990 Act.

A licence to provide a television licensable content service must contain such conditions as OFCOM consider appropriate for requiring the licence holder—

on entering into any agreement with the provider of a radio multiplex service for the provision of a television licensable content service to be broadcast by means of that multiplex service, to notify OFCOM—

of the identity of the radio multiplex service;

of the period during which the service will be provided; and

where under the agreement he will be entitled to the use of a specified amount of digital capacity, of that amount;

when any such agreement is varied so far as it relates to any of the matters mentioned in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii), to notify OFCOM of the variation so far as relating to those matters; and

where he is providing a television licensable content service to the provider of a radio multiplex service in accordance with such an agreement as is mentioned in paragraph (a) but intends to cease doing so, to notify OFCOM of that fact.

A licence to provide a television licensable content service which authorises the provision of an electronic programme guide ("the guide") must also include such conditions as OFCOM consider appropriate for ensuring that, at any time when the guide is a regulated electronic programme guide as defined by section 211A, the only television programme services that are listed or promoted by, or which can be accessed through, the guide are television programme services that—

are provided by or under a licence under this Part, or

do not fall, in pursuance of section 211(1) of the Communications Act 2003, to be regulated by OFCOM.

Section 235: Licensing of television licensable content services

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