Deregulation could revitalise regional media, says former OFCOM deputy chairman

Relaxing rules on cross-media ownership will be key to revitalising regional media, according to former OFCOM deputy chairman Richard Hooper and Ten Alps founder Alex Connock.

Their comments were made in the wake of government plans to scrap Labour's Independently Funded News Consortia (IFNC) pilots to pay for regional news on ITV. Speaking at a Frontline Club event last night entitled Hooper, who chaired the original IFNC selection, said the proposed deregulation would 'free up' media owners: "There's a strong constraint on TV outlets owning radio stations. We might move away from these tight constrictions. Deregulate, and the media might flower."

Hooper's comments reflected concerns voiced by regional media owners last year during OFT's review of the regional media merger process, while Ofcom has also previously recommended relaxing the rules.

He added that the internet was the reason for loss of advertising in regional media.

"We are talking about a fundamental change in technology. A lot of this was driven by the internet which hollowed out sector after sector. What was a pound in analogue media is a penny in digital media," he said.

Full video of the event below courtesy of BBC College of Journalism


Alex Connock – whose production company Ten Alps had been approved for an IFNC regional partnership – argued that franchised media ownership would boost struggling local advertising. He said: "If you want advertising you have to ring up [different media outlets]. But if you could offer cross-platform proposition – which you could if you owned everything – you would have a viable business model".

However, Hooper warned that mergers between radio, television and print outlets could lead to regional monopolies. He said: "There was good reason for the [ownership] rules. They are in place to encourage plurality."

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