Broadcasting Act 1990

The Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which aimed to liberalise and deregulate the British broadcasting industry by promoting competition; an example being ITV, in particular, which had earlier been described by Margaret Thatcher as "the last bastion of restrictive practices". The act was initiated in part due to a 1989 European Council Directive (89/552), also known as the Television Without Frontiers directive, and came about after the findings from the Peacock Committee.

It led directly to the abolition of the Independent Broadcasting Authority and its replacement with the Independent Television Commission and Radio Authority (both themselves now replaced by Ofcom), which were given the task of regulating the broadcasting industry with weaker powers compared to the previous authority.