§ 10. Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Lord Privy Seal what study he has given to the development of the technology of direct international television transmissions by satellite and its implications for the British Broadcasting Corporation world service.
§ Mr. RidleyMy right hon. Friend the Home Secretary recently published a report of the study on direct broadcasting by satellite for the United Kingdom. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office contributed to the preparation of the report. Comments on the report have been invited by the end of this month. It would be premature to conduct a detailed study of the implications for the British Broadcasting Corporation's world service in advance.
§ Sir Brandon Rhys WilliamsHas my hon. Friend appreciated the advantages for the British electronics industry if it were seen to be among the first in the field of satellite television? Would he also consider the advantages if the existing BBC language services were extended to other cultural and also to technological subjects, and that the cost of that might be shared with European Community countries as part of their joint contribution to the Lomé convention?
§ Mr. RidleyThe BBC external services are already using satellites to relay short-wave transmissions, but expansion into television would raise major financial and constitutional issues and would depend on the BBC's general response to direct broadcasting by satellite. In addition, it would be difficult to collect the licence fees from overseas residents.