Yes – subject to limited and narrow exceptions under UK copyright law, which involve specific ‘Fair Dealing’, e.g. use of a brief clip for News Reporting of Current Events, or for Criticism and Review.

Outside of these specifically defined, limited and narrow exceptions, anyone would be required to obtain a License or Permission from the Rights Holders [‘RH’s’] to reproduce or broadcast the show’s content.

UK Copyright Law protects ‘Broadcasts’ automatically under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Therefore, a Recording cannot be made or used without Permission unless a specific Legal Exception applies.

A single Broadcast contains several distinct Copyright Works.

To Record and Use it, permission is usually needed from the Creators of each ‘Layer’:

(i) ‘The Broadcast itself’ – The Signal Transmission has its own legal protection owned by the Broadcaster [‘B’].

(ii) ‘The Literary & Dramatic Work’ – The ‘Scripted elements’ or ‘Prepared Structures’ of the Talk Show.

(iii) ‘Sound Recordings’ – Any recorded clips, introductory music, or themes played during the broadcast.

Under UK law, copying a protected work is an infringement of the owner’s exclusive rights.

Making a digital or physical recording constitutes ‘reproducing the work in any material form.’

Recording an entire show, or even a ‘highly significant short segment’, captures a ‘substantial part’ of the intellectual property.

Therefore, B cannot simply record a competitor’s show for general entertainment or scheduling purposes.

They can only bypass Copyright under strict ‘Fair Dealing’ exceptions:

(i) ‘Criticism, Review, and News Reporting’ – B can use short, unapproved clips only if they are directly reviewing the show, or reporting on a current event (e.g., if a major political controversy occurred live on air).

(ii) ‘Sufficient Acknowledgement’ – B must explicitly credit show from which the Recording was made as the Source during their Broadcast.

(iv) ‘Fairness Test’ – The use must not compete with the original show, commercially damage the Rights Holders, or use more footage than strictly necessary for the news or review segment.

If the recording falls outside these narrow boundaries, e.g. re-airing the show for entertainment or archiving it for general future use, then in my view – that would be a clear and indefensible Legal Infringement of Copyright.

Note that – ‘Performers’ non-property rights, namely the rights conferred by sections 182 (fixation on live broadcasting of performance), 183 (public performance and broadcasting by means of recording made without consent), 184 (dealing in illicit recordings), 191HA (assignment of performers’ property rights in the sound recording) and 191 HB (payment in consideration of assignment) are not assignable. (Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 192(A)(1).’ (Performers’ Rights, Sixth Edition (2021) by Richard Arnold, paragraph 3-14). See my next comment about the legal significance of the above.

Legal significance – The above provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 ensure that B can never own a personal performer’s identity or statutory non-property rights. So, if B manipulates a clip or uses it for a purpose that has not been agreed, then legally, the inability of the Performer (i.e. of the Presenter of the Talk Show from which the Recording was made and rebroadcast without permission), to assign these rights, ensures that he/she retains full standing to bring an infringement claim in the English Court.

In other words. the legal significance of Section 192A(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is that P cannot sell, permanently transfer, or assign his statutory ‘performers’ non-property rights’ to B, because the law draws a strict boundary between granting a temporary license (consent) and permanently giving away personal legal protections.

Consequently B is potentially facing multiple claims for infringement of Copyright by both the RH’s in the Recording of the Talk Show and P, i.e. the Performer.

The unauthorized recording and re-broadcasting breaches the rights of the original production company or network.

The original broadcaster holds copyright in the broadcast itself. Making an unauthorised copy and re-transmitting it infringes this right.

A recorded talk show is legally protected as a ‘film’ or sound recording.

The producer or production company usually owns this copyright and can sue for unauthorised reproduction.

The presenter of the talk show holds distinct, independent legal protections known as ‘Performers’ Rights’.

These rights are separate from the copyright owned by B or producer.

P has the right to give or withhold consent for the recording or live broadcast of their performance.

Recording P’s performance without consent creates an ‘illicit recording.’

Showing or playing that illicit recording to the public, or broadcasting it, constitutes a direct infringement of P’s property rights.

Since these rights exist concurrently, B faces distinct legal actions from both:

(i) the ‘Original Broadcaster/Producer’ – For copying and distributing the technical broadcast, script, and film recording; and

(ii) P – For exploiting their personal performance, spoken words, and delivery without explicit contractual clearance or consent.