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No. 28743
Act No. 36, 2005
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 18 APRIL 2006
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2005
(c) be in a position to exercise control over two commercial broadcasting service
licences in the FM sound broadcasting service and be a director of any
company which is in a position to exercise control over any other commercial
broadcasting licence in the FM sound broadcasting service.
(3) A person referred to in subsection (2) must not be in a position to control two
commercial broadcasting service licences in the FM sound broadcasting service, which
either have the same licence areas or substantially overlapping licence areas.
(4) No person may—
(a) be in a position to exercise control over more than two commercial
broadcasting service licences in the AM sound broadcasting service;
(b) be a director of a company which is, or of two or more companies which
between them are, in a position to exercise control over more than two
commercial broadcasting service licences in the AM sound broadcasting
services; or
(c) be in a position to exercise control over two commercial broadcasting service
licences in the AM sound broadcasting service and be a director of any
company which is in a position to exercise control over any other commercial
broadcasting service licence in the AM sound broadcasting service.
(5) No person referred to in subsection (4) may be in a position to control two
commercial broadcasting service licences in the AM sound broadcasting service, which
either have the same licence areas or substantially overlapping licence areas.
(6) The Authority may, on application by any person, on good cause shown and
without departing from the objects and principles enunciated in section 2, exempt such
person from the provisions of subsections (1) to (5).
(7) The Authority may, whenever the Authority considers it necessary in view of the
developments in broadcasting technology or for the purposes of advancing the objects
and principles enunciated in section 2, institute and conduct a public inquiry and make
recommendations to the Minister regarding the amendment of any of the provisions of
subsections (1) to (6).
(8) The recommendations contemplated in subsection (7) must be tabled in the
National Assembly by the Minister within 14 days of receipt thereof, if the National
Assembly is then in session, or if the National Assembly is not in session, within 14 days
after the commencement of its next ensuing session.
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Limitations on cross-media control of commercial broadcasting services
66. (1) Cross-media control of broadcasting services must be subject to such
limitations as may from time to time be determined by the National Assembly acting on
the recommendation of the Authority, after consultation with the Minister, in accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution.
(2) No person who controls a newspaper, may acquire or retain financial control of a
commercial broadcasting service licence in both the television broadcasting service and
sound broadcasting service.
(3) No person who is in a position to control a newspaper may be in a position to
control a commercial broadcasting service licence, either in the television broadcasting
service or sound broadcasting service, in an area where the newspaper has an average
ABC circulation of twenty (20%) percent of the total newspaper readership in the area,
if the licence area of the commercial broadcasting service licence overlaps substantially
with the said circulation area of the newspaper.
(4) In this section ‘‘Substantial overlap’’ means an overlap by fifty (50%) percent or
more.
(5) A twenty (20%) percent shareholding in a commercial broadcasting service
licence, in either the television broadcasting service or sound broadcasting service, is
considered as constituting control.
(6) The Authority may, on good cause shown and without departing from the objects
and principles enunciated in section 2, exempt affected persons from any of the
limitations provided for in this section.
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