DCMS: End of local media cross ownership rules

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport outlined its objectives in a new Structural Reform Plan today and stated one of them was to "foster the development of a new breed of strong local media groups, by removing local cross-media ownership rules to encourage local TV."
According to a timetable included in the report (see above), the DCMS hopes to draft a statutory instrument accepting Ofcom recommendations on relaxing local cross-media rules by the end of July; lay an order before Parliament in October; publish Ofcom recommendations on final local cross-ownership rules in November; and set out strategy based on the recommendations in December.