Colleagues may be interested in the following new book:

The Politics of Television Policy: The Introduction of Digital Television 
in Great Britain 
by Paul Smith 
Published by Edwin Mellen Press.
http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=7284&pc=9

Description
Focusing on the making of UK digital television policy during the mid-late 
1990s and the collapse of ITV Digital in early 2002, this book provides an 
in-depth analysis of the introduction of digital television in the UK. Who 
were the main policy actors? What public policy issues were raised? How 
did the UK government respond? What were the main characteristics of the 
policy making process? Who had the power to control the policy making 
process and policy outcomes? And, how was this power exercised? With these 
questions in mind, this study highlights the emergence of a more complex 
system of UK television policy making, encompassing an ever increasing 
range of policy actors and political institutions.
 
Reviews
“Showing a close familiarity with much of the relevant primary as well as 
secondary source material, this book will be an essential guide to those 
seeking to understand how the current balance of forces in Britain’s 
digital television provision came about – and with what consequences for 
media users.” – Professor Raymond Kuhm, Department of Politics, Queen Mary 
University of London

“This book provides a detailed account of the introduction of digital 
television in the UK  ... By highlighting the increasingly important role 
played by the European Union and the limits of relying exclusively on 
competition policy to shape the communications landscape, this book 
provides some valuable lessons for contemporary policy makers.” – Dr. 
Jeanette Steamers, Professor in Media and Communication, School of Media, 
Arts and Design, University of Westminster

“Paul Smith’s work provides an important and engaging account of the 
emergence of digital television policy and, in particular, locates this 
within a discussion of theories of policy-making and governance. As such, 
the book is likely to be of interest not only to communications 
researchers and students but also those within political science, 
government and technology fields.” – Dr. Des Freedman, Department of Media 
and Communications, Goldsmiths University of London 

Table of Contents
List of Tables
Foreword by Raymond Kuhn
Introduction
1 The Politics of UK Television Policy
2 The Making of UK Television Policy: An Historical Analysis
3 The UK Digital Television Policy Agenda
4 The Introduction of Digital Terrestrial Television
5 Regulating the Digital Set-Top Box ‘Gateway’
6 The Regulation of Premium Content
7 The Making of Ofcom
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index 
ISBN10:  0-7734-5223-0   ISBN13:  978-0-7734-5223-7    Pages:  348

Dr Paul Smith 
De Montfort University
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