We aim to encourage strong public service broadcasting, maintain the quality of its output, and ensure that all consumers have access to varied programming.
The public service television broadcasters are:
- The BBC, a public corporation, funded mainly by the television licence fee
- Channel 4, a public corporation self-funded by advertising revenues
- S4C, a public corporation broadcasting for the fourth channel in Wales and funded by grant-in-aid from the Government and advertising revenue
- ITV, Five, and Teletext, commercial television companies, funded by advertising revenues
We set the licence fee which supports the BBC, and the grants that support S4C. Tessa Jowell's oral statement to Parliament (18 January 2007) details the BBC licence fee for the six year period 2007 - 2012/13.
Aside from our BBC-specific responsibilities, detailed below, responsibility for licensing, regulating and monitoring public service broadcasters lies with the Office of Communications (Ofcom).
