06-12-2010, 02:49
Intense, just wanted to say Thanks for putting forward a line of defence. Unfortunately I doubt it would work*, but the more ideas the better.
Also common sense and logic doesnt seem to come into it. Ofcom know what they mean, and have no hesitation sticking to that, even if their rules actually say something different.
And as you say, if the broadcasters themselves cant be bothered to fight ... sod em.
Actually I suspect there are several reasons why the broadcasters dont fight (too much).
- Ofcom are like gangesters or benevolent dictators. Abide by their rules and they see you OK. Disrepect them and they punish you. After that you are "outside the circle". Disrepect comes in several forms. Refuse to plead guilty and grovel at a compliance meeting and you are questioning their judgement. Major broadcasters like C4 or Sky are allowed to do this once only. Appeal an In Breach finding and not only are you questioning their judgement, they owe you a slap. And going to Court is even worse.
- Babe channel revenue is actually quite small, making the benefits of an expensive court case very dubious.
- Winning a court case would benefit the competition equally.**
- It could take a year to get a hearing.
- Large foreign outfits would muscle in.
- Some operators are happy with the situation as it is.
(*Ofcom allow R18 DVDs to be advertised on encrypted channels, but do not allow the R18 content to be broadcast, just tamer extracts, a tamer description, and contact details.)
** A good argument for a shared fighting fund and co-ordinated action.
Also common sense and logic doesnt seem to come into it. Ofcom know what they mean, and have no hesitation sticking to that, even if their rules actually say something different.
And as you say, if the broadcasters themselves cant be bothered to fight ... sod em.
Actually I suspect there are several reasons why the broadcasters dont fight (too much).
- Ofcom are like gangesters or benevolent dictators. Abide by their rules and they see you OK. Disrepect them and they punish you. After that you are "outside the circle". Disrepect comes in several forms. Refuse to plead guilty and grovel at a compliance meeting and you are questioning their judgement. Major broadcasters like C4 or Sky are allowed to do this once only. Appeal an In Breach finding and not only are you questioning their judgement, they owe you a slap. And going to Court is even worse.
- Babe channel revenue is actually quite small, making the benefits of an expensive court case very dubious.
- Winning a court case would benefit the competition equally.**
- It could take a year to get a hearing.
- Large foreign outfits would muscle in.
- Some operators are happy with the situation as it is.
(*Ofcom allow R18 DVDs to be advertised on encrypted channels, but do not allow the R18 content to be broadcast, just tamer extracts, a tamer description, and contact details.)
** A good argument for a shared fighting fund and co-ordinated action.