TV
The BBC, responding to weekend press reports that its new joint-venture channel UK History was coming under fire from the US-backed History Channel, has released a statement today saying that the channel is fully approved by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Press reports over the weekend suggested that the US backers of the History Channel, which include A&E Networks, were saying the BBC Worldwide and Telewest Flextech joint-venture was limited as to the number of channels it could launch under the terms of a 1997 approval for the original joint-ventures - and also that such joint-venture channels could only be placed on pay-to-view services. Such stipulations would prevent a new BBC Worldwide/Flextech channel being launched on Freeview.
However, the BBC says that under the terms of an agreement with the DCMS reached in November 2000, it is not restricted as to how many joint-venture channels BBC Worldwide and Flextech may launch, nor are there restrictions with regards to which services such channels may be launched on. Therefore launches of UK History and UK HomeStyle will go ahead as planned, the corporation states.
Press reports over the weekend suggested that the US backers of the History Channel, which include A&E Networks, were saying the BBC Worldwide and Telewest Flextech joint-venture was limited as to the number of channels it could launch under the terms of a 1997 approval for the original joint-ventures - and also that such joint-venture channels could only be placed on pay-to-view services. Such stipulations would prevent a new BBC Worldwide/Flextech channel being launched on Freeview.
However, the BBC says that under the terms of an agreement with the DCMS reached in November 2000, it is not restricted as to how many joint-venture channels BBC Worldwide and Flextech may launch, nor are there restrictions with regards to which services such channels may be launched on. Therefore launches of UK History and UK HomeStyle will go ahead as planned, the corporation states.
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