§ Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising with regard to their representations for competition in the selling of air time for the fourth television channel.
§ Mr. WhitelawI have met the president and the representatives of the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers and have considered carefully the points that they have made to me in favour of competitive selling of advertising on the fourth channel. I remain convinced, however, that competitive advertising on the two channels would inevitably result in a move towards concentration on maximising the audience for programmes, with adverse consequences for both of the commercial channels and before long for the BBC as well.