Mark Thompson 

Director-General 

BBC 

 

 

27 April 2007 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Mark, 

 

 

The BBC Executive put forward proposals in February asking the Trust to agree to the BBC 
proceeding with the launch of “Freesat”, in particular establishing a company to operate and 
manage the “Freesat” proposition, as a joint venture with other public service broadcasters. 
The Trust has consulted publicly on the issue and has concluded that it should approve the 
proposals. The Trust's decision has been published today. 

 

In reaching its decision the Trust has considered the likely benefits to the licence fee payer, the 
public value created and the potential market impact. Having regard to the Trust's duties 
under the Charter and the Agreement (particularly the duties in Article 23) and such general 
guidance concerning the management of the affairs of public bodies which we consider relevant 
and appropriate, our conclusion is that we should approve the proposition that the BBC 
invests in a joint venture to offer a national satellite based free-to-view digital service. We 
consider this to be in the best interests of licence fee payers. 

 

The Trust’s approval is subject to the following conditions: 

 

1. A requirement that the funding arrangements for the participation of other 
broadcasters in “Freesat” are such that it can be demonstrated that those other 
broadcasters are not being subsidised by the licence fee. 
2. A requirement that the BBC should keep its interaction with Freeview operationally 
separate from its involvement with “Freesat” to minimise any potential effect on 
competition 
3. The BBC, through its role in the Joint Venture, must retain sufficient control over the 
decisions taken by the Joint Venture to ensure that the BBC’s public service objectives 
are not undermined. 
4. The BBC, through its role in the Joint Venture, should ensure that there is always an 
ability to access “Freesat” on a subscription-free basis 





In addition to these conditions of approval, the Trust considers it important that in 
implementing the “Freesat” proposal the BBC Executive is mindful of the following points 
raised during our consultation, which we consider to be important to the success of the 
venture. 

 

First, you should seek to ensure that arrangements to secure the necessary quality and 
technical standards of the receivers and Electronic Programme Guide required to access 
“Freesat” are put in place. 

 

Second, you should take all reasonable steps to ensure that “Freesat” is able to co-exist with 
other digital television platforms without impairing their technical operations. 

 

Finally, I would be grateful if you could make sure that the Trust is kept informed at 
appropriate stages of progress in establishing the joint venture and launching the “Freesat” 
proposition. 

 

 

Yours sincerely 

 

 

 

Chitra Bharucha 

Acting Chairman