Minister John Whittingdale to face questions on the future of public service broadcasting

MPs will question Minister for Media and Data and former Secretary of State for DCMS John Whittingdale in the final session of the inquiry into the future of public service broadcasting (PSB). On the agenda is the future funding of PSBs such as the BBC, including questions on the Government’s consultation on decriminalisation of TV licence fee evasion as well as the future of Channel 4. The session will also ask what regulatory changes may be needed to ensure PSBs stay relevant amidst the rise of on-demand streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Such changes could be the regulation of online advertising and the work of the newly announced Digital Markets Unit, which is likely to affect streaming services.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, will return to the Committee facing questions on several issues raised in previous sessions of this inquiry relating to prominence of PSBs in a digital age, regional programming as well as on-screen and off-screen diversity in the TV industry.

Evidence session: The future of public service broadcasting

Tuesday 15 December 2020, 10.00am

Witnesses from 10.00:

• Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom
• Kevin Bakhurst, Executive Director of Broadcasting and Online Content, Ofcom

At approx. 11.00:

• Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP, Minister of State for Media and Data, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport