The Alternative

"I shall be accused of being a highbrow, but that just can't be helped." With these defensive words, Chairman of the Arts Council Sir Kenneth Clark last week accepted the chairmanship of Britain's Independent Television Authority, whose job is to bring the first commercial TV to a nation long accustomed to the often soporific British Broadcasting Corp. Sir Kenneth, 51, was formerly director of the National Gallery, Slade professor of Fine Art at Oxford, and wartime member of the Ministry of Information. His six-man board is equally highbrow and includes ex-Teacher Margaret Popham, who does not even own a TV set ("I don't find most of the programs interesting enough").

Sir Kenneth concedes that "practically no member of the Authority knows much about television. We have no offices, no staff and no equipment. We are starting from the bottom upwards, not even from the floor up, but from the earth." Even so, ITA hopes to have three transmitters telecasting within a year. The commercial TV shows will be created by specially licensed "program contractors" who, after buying air time from ITA, may then sell advertising space to sponsors. The commercials will be limited to the beginning and end of shows, or during a "natural" break in the program, but sponsors may not give the impression that they are responsible for bringing the show to viewers, nor may they have any say as to what sort of program surrounds their commercial.

Sir Kenneth aims at providing an alternative--not a competitive--service to BBC. He does not believe that ITA will draw any inspiration from commercial television in the U.S. "What I saw there was pretty hair-raising," he says. "People do say they have very good things in the U.S. Perhaps I struck it unlucky."

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