The Copyright, Patents and Designs Act/1998 had until 2017 the section 73 by which the retransmission of copyrighted works was considered not an infringement of the copyright if it resulted from mandatory provisions such as the "must carry" provision as enacted by the Communications Act, 2003. Section 73 was however repealed by the Digital Economy Act, leaving the "must carry" provision out of the scope of what was called the "must carry" exception. Would this mean that "must carry" implies now a liability for the cable operator?

See here the relevant legislation:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/73/2017-07-31?timeline=true

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/30/section/34#section-34-1-a

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/part/2/chapter/1/crossheading/general-conditions-mustcarry-obligations

Here the repealed legislation:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/73/2003-12-29?timeline=true#commentary-c19324581