±«Óătv

Review of online independent supply

In January 2011, the ±«Óătv Trust published findings of its review of the supply of online services to the ±«Óătv by the independent sector.

This review and the supporting evidence can be found below. Subsequently, the ±«Óătv Executive introduced a number of changes and in 2012, undertook follow-up work to address the broad strategic questions posed in the Trust’s original review.

In January 2013, the Executive published its final response to the Trust’s review (PDF file). This sets out the approach that the Executive has taken and its answers to each of the questions posed by the Trust. The Executive response is supported by an independent report by MTM London which is also available on the ±«Óătv website.

The Trust’s original review posed a series of high level questions relating to the nature of online independent supply, which the Executive’s response considers in turn. Overall, the Executive recommends to retain the status quo in regards to the quota and supply arrangements, but to make further changes to improve operational effectiveness including communicating the quota objectives and performance more widely with the market and replacing existing reporting metrics with a new set of categories which are more meaningful to industry. Given that the evidence suggests that this is an evolving and fragmented market, with no current clear consensus as to what the exact nature of the quota should be, they also commit to reviewing the efficacy of the quota on a rolling basis.

The Trust welcomes the response from the Executive and agrees with its recommendations. We are satisfied with the current approach taken by the Executive, but look forward to their improvements in terms of operational effectiveness and reporting mechanisms, as well as their intention to review the quota on a rolling basis. We have asked that the Executive returns to the Trust after the 2012/13 financial year to update us on this matter.

The Trust's conclusions

Supporting evidence