Ofcom media plurality review gets 45,000 submissions

Ofcom has received more than 45,000 submissions in its review of media plurality and ownership rules, launched following Rupert Murdoch's botched bid to take full control of Sky.

As of last week's deadline, the media regulator had received around 50 responses from organisations and individuals, along with 15,000 submissions via campaigning group Avaaz and a further 30,000 from 38 Degrees, the community group.

According to Media Week, the 50 submissions from individuals and organisations covered broad issues around the future of media ownership and dominance in the UK.

However, it is understood that the majority of submissions from Avaaz and 38 Degrees contained specific opposition to the power held by Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation.

An Ofcom spokesman said: "Ofcom has received a significant number of comments and responses to its work on measuring media plurality. We expect to report back on the questions that we have been asked by Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state, next year."

Late last year, Ofcom was involved in a public interest test of the bid by Murdoch's News Corp to acquire the 60.9% of Sky that it does not already own. This was in response to concerns over how the deal would impact the plurality of media sources in the UK.

News Corp ultimately withdrew the bid this summer following cross-party political pressure in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.

But in its report to Hunt on the Sky bid last December, Ofcom said that the current framework around media plurality should be subject to reform.

Current legislation only allows plurality reviews to be instigated when merger situations arise, meaning there is no way to tackle companies that have become dominant through organic growth.

Ofcom is considering how practical it would be to set limits on media ownership to protect quality, as well as introduce a framework for measuring plurality across different media.

Avaaz was one of the most high-profile groups to campaign against News Corp's bid for Sky, and the group has highlighted Ofcom's review as a chance to "end the Murdoch mafia".

The group asked people to send a pre-prepared letter to Ofcom calling on the regulator to "ensure that no person or corporation is allowed to own 20% or more of any branch of our media".

Meanwhile, Sky chairman James Murdoch is expected to face a challenge from the firm's shareholders at next week's annual meeting over his handling of the phone hacking scandal at News International.