Pressure grows on Jowell to review PSB

A Parliamentary Select Committee has voiced demands for an early review of public service broadcasting, calling on Tessa Jowell to also launch an inquiry.

Former broadcasting adviser Lord Burns spoke this week at a Parliamentary Select Committee, backed by David Elstein, chairman of the Broadcasting Policy Group, asking the Department of Media and Culture to examine the case for top slicing the BBC's licence fee revenue to share it with other public service channels such as Channel 4.

A cross-party media select committee has already indicated it wants the issue on the agenda and is to launch its own inquiry into public service broadcasting.

The government has previously said that the future funding of public service broadcasting should be subject to a review before the end of the new six year licence fee period in 2014, but has set no date when it will take place.

Calling for a review before 2009, Burns added: "I think we have got a wonderful array of programmes both on the radio and TV but I think the present method of funding is not sustainable beyond digital switchover."