§ Mr. Masonasked the Postmaster-General what provision he is making to ensure that pay-television franchise holders are not dominated by commercial television contractors and the major cinema groups.
§ Mr. BevinsAs stated in the General Requirements, copies of which were placed in the Library on 4th March, the pay-television operator must be a company set up to operate pay-television as its main interest, and effective control of a pay-television company must not be hold by any of the I.T.A.'s programme contractors. However, I also think it is important that the pay-television experiment should be allowed to draw support from as wide a field as possible, including the film industry.
§ Mr. Masonasked the Postmaster-General if, in order that a true test of public demand should be undertaken before pay-television is allowed to be permanently established, he will take steps to ensure that companies granted a licence do not give their selected audiences pay-television sets.
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§ Mr. BevinsNo special receivers are needed for pay-television; meters or coin boxes are fitted as separate units, for which some applicants envisage making a small charge.