Section 9 — Quotas: original productions

(1) Section 278 of the Communications Act 2003 (programming quotas for original productions) is amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) substitute— (1) The regulatory regime for every licensed public service channel includes the conditions that OFCOM consider appropriate for securing that in each year— (a) the provider of the licensed public service channel makes available qualifying audiovisual content that includes a range of original productions, (b) the duration (in total) of those original productions is at least the number of hours that OFCOM consider appropriate, and (c) if OFCOM consider it appropriate, the additional peak viewing time objective described in subsection (1A) is met. (1A) The additional peak viewing time objective is that (out of the number of hours determined by OFCOM for the purposes of subsection (1)(b)) at least the number of hours that OFCOM consider appropriate is allocated to the broadcasting of original productions included in the channel at peak viewing times.

(3) Omit subsections (2) and (3).

(4) After subsection (7) insert— (7A) An order under subsection (6) may— (a) authorise OFCOM to provide in a condition included in a licence by virtue of this section that original productions of a description specified in the licence may not be counted towards meeting the condition; (b) require OFCOM to prepare and publish guidance about the determination of whether an original production falls within a description included in a licence by virtue of paragraph (a); (c) authorise OFCOM to provide in a condition included in a licence by virtue of this section that the holder of the licence must have regard to that guidance.

(5) After subsection (11) insert— (12) See also sections 278B and 278C (which make further provision for the interpretation of this section etc).