Independent Broadcasting Authority

The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television (ITV and Channel 4 – cable and satellite television were the responsibility of the Cable Authority) and radio broadcasts.

The IBA came into being when the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 gave the Independent Television Authority responsibility for organising the new Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. It was disbanded in 1990, being replaced by the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) and the Radio Authority (RAu), which have since been replaced with one regulator, Ofcom. A private company, National Transcommunications Limited (NTL), was set up to run the former IBA transmitter masts.