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Programme Standards
The DCMS works closely with the broadcasting industry and viewers and listeners to help increase choice, ensure competition and maintain programme standards and quality.
Our role is to set a framework designed to encourage a choice of high quality broadcasting. We do not intervene in complaints about individual programmes or schedules; the Government has created regulators to ensure that standards are maintained and that complaints are properly handled by broadcasters. The regulators also consider serious cases themsleves.
The regulatory bodies are:
- Ofcom
- the Governors of the BBC
- the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority (S4C)
These bodies are appointed by the Government but operate independently. It is their job to safeguard the public interest in broadcasting. They have a duty to ensure that programmes and advertisements contain nothing which offends generally accepted standards, as determined on the basis of rsearch.
The regulators maintain Codes of Practice for programme makers which set out the rules on the content and nature of programmes and advertisements, on their timing, on separating advertisements clearly from programmes and on commercial sponsorship.
The Codes also recommend when warning announcements about programmes should be made.
Viewers can obtain copies of the Codes from the individual regulators and they are available on the regulators' web sites.
Sports on television
DCMS receives numerous requests for information, and also some complaints, about sports coverage on television. We have therefore compiled a leaflet Coverage of Sport on Television PDF (118kb)which gives background to the law and answers some of the most frequently asked questions.
Access to television for viewers with hearing and sight disabilities
Broadcasting legislation requires broadcasters to meet minimum targets for subtitling and, on their digital services, signing and audio description of their programmes.
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