DCMS Committee holds final evidence session on future of public service broadcasting

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

(at 11:00 am)

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

Giles Watling: [01:37:26] Would you say that the likes of Amazon and Netflix are deliberately obfuscating? I mean, they don't credit content providers. For instance, Netflix runs BBC programmes and the viewers don't know anything about it. They don't even share data about their UK work force. Should they and why should they? [01:37:46][20.6]

John Whittingdale (Minister for Media and Data, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport): [01:37:49] I firstly welcome the huge increase in choice which viewers have been given as a result of people like Netflix and Amazon and of course, Apple and Disney and indeed Discovery, all streaming content to UK viewers. They do commission content from UK production companies, which is again something I very strongly welcome. There is not just programming that is obviously UK based like the Crown, but there is also programming which is less obviously UK based but still made in this country, something like Sex Education, which is made in Wales by Netflix. Whether or not they should be required to credit the independent production company or the location or whatever is is not something that I think is necessarily something we would want to do. But I mean, you raise an interesting wIder question, which is that U.K. traditional broadcasters are subject to quite stringent requirements in terms of the broadcasting licence they hold, in terms of some of the obligations placed on them, which Melanie Dawes has been talking about. And then you have the video on demand services, which are really subject to virtually no regulation or requirements at all. If they are UK based, then they would require some broadcasting licence. If their EU based, then they come under AVMSD, but if they're outside Europe, then they are not subject to anybody at all.

Giles Watling: [01:42:17] Do you think Ofcom should have more access to more data about video on demand services? [01:42:29][11.9]

John Whittingdale: [01:42:32] Video on demand services at the moment. If they are not UK based, then Ofcom has no remit. A broadcasting licence is required if you are a UK based service and some are. Amazon I think is UK headquartered. [01:42:53][20.8]

Giles Watling: [01:42:59] What I'm trying to get at is should the UK government be reaching out to overseas territories? [01:43:05][5.9]

John Whittingdale: [01:43:07] Well, it will depend to some extent where they are based. Taking off my media hat and putting on my other hat, which is minister for data, I'm all in favour of data sharing and I think there great benefits for consumers if we do enable data sharing. Now, whether or not you can actually require data to be provided, it would require a much greater regulation intervention. There is an argument that you could try and require all services providing content to UK customers to have some kind of broadcasting licence. But that, you know, that goes a lot further than where we are at present. And that's certainly not something we have decided, but it is something which one could look at. [01:43:55][47.6]