The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland has decided to leave its policy on the ownership and control of broadcasting licences unchanged following a review.
Its current policy states that a number equivalent to 15% or less of the total number of commercial services licensed would be likely to be an acceptable level for any one investor, while a number between 15% and 25% would need more careful consideration, and a number above 25% would be unacceptable.
The 25% level had been temporarily reduced to 17.9% pending the outcome of the review. 17.9% is the maximum held by any one investor, UTV, at the moment.
The thresholds refer to an 'undue' number of services, currently defined as 'more than a reasonable share of the range of communications media available to audiences in the franchise area'. This definition will remain unchanged, but the BCI will no longer applicants' dominance of the local advertising market, as this is examined by the Competition Authority.
A two-year moratorium on the sale of a licence will remain in place, though the BCI will make an exception for licence holders whose licences have been renewed. A 'substantial interest' will now be defined as any above 10%.
Chief executive Michael O'Keeffe said the commission was satisfied that the existing policy had worked 'extremely well'.
Meanwhile, the BCI also said it would re-advertise the national commercial licence currently held by Today FM on December 9. It will also advertise for a new quasi-national speech-driven service.
