The Future of Communications Regulation after Ofcom’s Pay-TV Consultation

Abstract

The present article examines the implications of Ofcom’s pay-TV consultation for the future of communications regulation. It is submitted, first, that the authority’s approach departs from what appeared to be well-established principles in the relevant sector-specific instruments. While ex ante intervention only seemed justified in presence of structural obstacles to effective competition, the logic underpinning the pay-TV consultation suggests that intervention may be justified whenever the regulator expects it to benefit consumers and competition. Similarly, Ofcom does not feel bound by the limits that would derive from competition law. More generally, the article examines the extent to which the broader technological and regulatory context surrounding the pay-TV consultation is relevant to explain the position taken by the authority.