Ofcom Chief Slated for MGEITF

LONDON: Ed Richards, the chief executive of British media regulator Ofcom, will be interviewed at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival by Peter Fincham, the director of television at ITV.

The festival, slated for August 28 to 30, will see Richards addressing the key issues surrounding Ofcom’s vision for Public Service Broadcasting and a Broadband Britain during his Q&A with Fincham, who last year, during the MacTaggart lecture, criticized Ofcom for being out of touch with viewers and argued that over-regulation could "kill television."

“We feel it’s essential that the industry’s regulator is held to account at Edinburgh, television’s key festival," said Elaine Bedell, the advisory chair of the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival Advisory Committee. "And we want to make sure we address the important issues of Public Service Broadcasting, Broadband Britain and regulation—and what better way to do this than a lively debate with Peter who was publicly critical of the regulator at this festival last year.”

James Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive for Europe and Asia at News Corporation, will deliver this year’s MacTaggart lecture.