Big Brother: One of Peter Bazalgette's productions for Channel 4

But because Telefonica owns a broadcaster (a television channel in Spain) Endemol and all its subsidiaries no longer count as independent producers for the purposes of the UK's Broadcasting Act.

This is bad news for Baz. The act obliges terrestrial broadcasters to commission 25% of their programmes from independents.

Anything they now buy from Bazalgette will not count towards that quota.

Worrying

Bazalgette's programmes include the UK version of Endemol's Big Brother for Channel 4, and yards and yards and yards of programmes for the BBC, including Ground Force, Changing Rooms and Ready Steady Cook.

They also include some Sunday morning programmes for the ITV breakfast company GMTV.

The BBC rather agrees with Bazalgette and de Mol that the rules need rewriting

GMTV has told Bazalgette it will have to axe its contract with him and find another supplier, because otherwise it will not be able to fulfil its 25% quota.

Even more worrying for Bazalgette could be the BBC's reaction. Endemol supplies around 10% of the BBC's quota of independently-produced programmes.

Its reclassification as a broadcaster following the Telefonica take-over means the BBC could well fall significantly short of the 25% target in the year 2000-2001.

It is now trying to persuade the Office of Fair Trading, which polices broadcasters' compliance with the quota, to redefine some sport and entertainment programmes as "news", which is exempt from the 25% requirement.

Illogical

The BBC is hoping that if it fails to make the quota the OFT will at least be "understanding" of the problems it faces.

Some other channels faces similar problems, though less acute - ITV last year commissioned 29% of its programmes from independents.

Prompted by GMTV's decision, Bazalgette is now lobbying the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for a change in the law.

He and his boss, Endemol's chief executive John de Mol, think that to define their company as a broadcaster when it has no UK television channels is illogical and unfair.

BBC One's Changing Rooms: Another Bazalgette production

De Mol told the Edinburgh Television Festival as much the other day, pointing out that the Germans, Italians and Dutch still consider Endemol an independent.

Not surprisingly, the BBC rather agrees with Bazalgette and de Mol that the rules need rewriting.

It is quite possible to commission a programme from an independent only to find it has been taken over by a broadcaster by the time of transmission - and it is the producer's status at the time of transmission, not at commissioning, which is relevant for the purposes of the quota.

Predator

More and more leading British independents are now owned by broadcasters although most, unlike Endemol, do actually broadcast in the UK.

Thames (This is Your Life, The Bill) is owned by RTL, which controls Channel 5.

Planet 24 (The Big Breakfast) has been bought by the ITV company Carlton.

Ginger Media (TFI Friday) is owned by SMG (which owns Scottish Television).

Talkback (Never Mind the Buzzcocks, They Think It's All Over) was sold last year to RTL for �50m.

There has been speculation that Tiger Aspect (Mr Bean, Gimme Gimme Gimme) may fall victim to a predator with broadcasting interests.

Peter Bazalgette may have to do some lobbying in Brussels as well as Whitehall

For producers and broadcasters alike such consolidation makes perfect sense, providing the programme-makers with a source of cash, the broadcaster with bespoke programmes.

It also puts an end to those endless rows over who should retain the rights to exploit a programme after its first transmission which bedevil the relationship between many broadcasters and independents.

As the producers' association, Pact, is well aware, the 25% quota may be the most important factor stopping the industry from reverting to the position it was in before the launch of Channel 4 in 1982, where all but a tiny handful of programmes were produced in-house.

Review

That is why Pact wants the quota to remain, and why the government agrees.

That need not prevent the kind of tinkering with definitions which Peter Bazalgette is after. But he will have found the government's initial response discouraging.

As well as the UK's 25% quota, there is a Europe-wide 10% quota laid down by an EU directive.

That directive is currently under review. The UK Government will not act ahead of the review's completion, presumably in case Europe decides to adopt the UK's definition of when an independent is not an independent.

Peter Bazalgette may have to do some lobbying in Brussels as well as Whitehall - and in the mean time resign himself to losing that GMTV contract.

A version of this article appears in the BBC's magazine Ariel.