Ofcom said that the wider public policy debate about media ownership is ongoing and believes that any recommendations it makes will need to be considered in light of any changes to the legislative and policy framework. According to the regulatory body, it has neither observed any Parliamentary policy rationale nor any shift in the market context in which they operate for existing rules to be changed.

In a statement, the regulator said, “Our advice on measuring media plurality set out that it is for Parliament to decide if and when this rule should be modified or removed and that the conclusion of the first periodic review of plurality is likely to provide greater certainty than is currently available. As such, we do not recommend any changes to this rule in this review.”