ITV ‘will sue’ if catch-up comes under BBC licence
August 4, 2015
UK commercial broadcaster ITV is threatening legal action over government proposals to force digital catch-up TV users to purchase a TV licence.
The proposals are part of plans to overhaul BBC funding. According to a Sky News report, ITV CEO Adam Crozier has written to government ministers expressing concerns over the proposals that will impact broadcasters with a public service broadcasting remit.
Government proposals have caused widespread concern across the terrestrial TV industry as subscription-based services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will be exempt from the rules. A commercial broadcasting exec told reporters it was ‘wholly unreasonable’ for users of ITV catch-up services to fund the BBC and accused the government of creating an ‘unlevel playing field’.