HC Deb 23 July 1963 vol 681 cc1248-9
6. Mr. Mason

asked the Postmaster-General if he has now completed his review of applications for pay television experiments; which companies have been successful; what areas are to be recognised; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Bevins

The preliminary round of discussions with applicants who wish to be operators is now almost completed, and the detailed requirements are under discussion. Until, however, I have firm offers in regard to the location of areas of trials and of the conditions to be laid down I cannot determine finally what companies can be licensed, and the hon. Member will appreciate that mention of some areas and not others may be misleading and cause disappointment later on. I do not think that more than four or five companies at most, and some of these are consortia, can make the necessary facilities and resources available to mount the necessary operation.

I will, however, make a further statement as soon as possible.

Mr. Mason

Could the right hon. Gentleman, then, reveal to the House how many companies have so far applied? Is it not possible for him to give us an idea of what areas are under consideration and which are the likeliest areas to be provided with these pay television experiments? Secondly, may I ask him whether it will be possible to make a statement on this matter before the House rises for the Summer Recess? We do not want to go through the usual Summer Recess ritual of a Ministerial statement about a new television experiment without our being able to question him.

Mr. Bevins

Altogether about 17 companies have evinced an interest in this experiment, but, as I said, probably not more than half a dozen at the most will actually participate. The areas have not been finally selected, but it is quite clear that London will be one of the areas, but we are anxious to get a cross-section of different localities throughout the country, I doubt whether it will be possible to make a further statement before the House gets up, but I will do so as soon as possible.

15. Mr. Mason

asked the Postmaster-General if he will stipulate that pay television licensees will only be allowed one channel for the purposes of experiments.

Mr. Bevins

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 7th May.

Mr. Mason

Could the right hon. Gentleman extend that reply and give the House some assurance regarding the new development and restricting it to one channel? If the experiments are successful, is it his intention to keep pay television solely on one channel? Also, what length of time has he in mind for the experiment to take place?

Mr. Bevins

The people who operate the pay television service will be obliged to put out both B.B.C. and I.T.A. programmes, and for the time being we have decided that they should use one additional channel for their own service. I think that is right for the present, but if experience indicates that more than one channel might be desirable at a later stage, we would propose to review the situation after perhaps a year or two of its operation. No period has been fixed for the length of the experiment, but the whole thing will be reviewed almost year to year to see how it develops.

Mr. Lubbock

When the right hon. Gentleman is considering increasing the number of channels available to television, will he take full account of any representations made by radio astronomers in this country and abroad about the limitation on frequencies available to them?

Mr. Bevins

Certainly, Sir, but I do not think I have received any such representations during my tenure of office.