New plans to boost Britain’s broadcasters and protect viewers on video-on-demand channels
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Plans to consult on sale of Channel 4 to ensure its future success
and sustainability Review of regulation of video-on-demand services
also in the pipeline Moves will feed into the government’s wider
review of public service broadcasters Viewers and listeners across
the country are set to benefit from plans to support British
broadcasters and make the media landscape fit for the 21st century.
As part of an...Request free trial
Viewers and listeners across the country are set to benefit from plans to support British broadcasters and make the media landscape fit for the 21st century. As part of an ongoing strategic review of the UK public service broadcasting system, the government will review the ownership model and remit of Channel 4 and consider tightening regulation of video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. With a fast-evolving media landscape, increasing competition and changing audience habits posing imminent challenges, moving Channel 4 into private ownership and changing its remit could help secure its future as a successful and sustainable public service broadcaster. The government will also consult on whether the regulation of video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime need strengthening so they are subject to similar rules as traditional “linear” broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Sky. It will consider whether new rules are needed to protect viewers of video-on-demand services - such as changes to age ratings and addressing impartiality and accuracy rules for documentaries and news content - alongside measures to level the playing field so public service broadcasters can compete with international rivals. This will help ensure the country has a diverse, free and pluralistic broadcasting landscape with high standards. The reviews will come ahead of a broadcasting white paper due in the autumn. The white paper would consider the future of the country’s broadcasting landscape with the ultimate aim of making sure it serves listeners and viewers on all platforms and across the UK. Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Technology has transformed broadcasting but the rules protecting viewers and helping our traditional channels compete are from an analogue age. “The time has come to look at how we can unleash the potential of our public service broadcasters while also making sure viewers and listeners consuming content on new formats are served by a fair and well-functioning system. “So we’ll now be looking at how we can help make sure Channel 4 keeps its place at the heart of British broadcasting and level the playing field between broadcasters and video-on-demand services.” Channel 4 At present Channel 4 is entirely commercially funded, but it has been publicly-owned since it began broadcasting in 1982. It has delivered its original aims, including supporting the independent production sector in the UK and creating diverse, varied and risk-taking programming. But four decades later the broadcasting landscape is unrecognisable. Online streaming and digital terrestrial TV have flooded the market with new and varied content while at the same time intensifying the competition for advertising and being able to raise huge sums for subscriptions. More than 90 per cent of Channel 4’s revenue comes from advertising - which is traditionally cyclical in nature - and from events-driven sponsorship activities. This makes it particularly vulnerable to market fluctuations and the decline in linear TV advertising spend. Moving Channel 4 into private ownership could allow it to access new capital, create strategic partnerships, and reach international markets only available through the private sector. Changes to the model may also allow Channel 4 to diversify its income streams, enable it to invest in new technology and produce new content and programming. This would better allow Channel 4 to compete and strengthen its role as a public service broadcaster and secure the long-term benefits it can bring to the creative industries and to audiences. Video-on-demand services Video-on-demand services available in the UK are not regulated to the same level as “linear” television channels and some services such as Netflix and Apple TV+ are not regulated in the UK at all. Only content on the BBC iPlayer is subject to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which includes enhanced protections to audiences from harmful or offensive material and rules on accuracy and impartiality. Existing audience protections on UK-regulated video-on-demand services are primarily focused on children and rules preventing content which incites hatred. Some services have introduced their own voluntary procedures - such as Netflix’s voluntary age ratings partnership with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The current landscape makes for an inconsistent, ad-hoc and potentially harmful gap in regulation between video-on-demand services alongside a potential competitive disadvantage between UK broadcasters and their internationally-funded online counterparts. It is also almost twenty years since the UK broadcast sector’s regulatory framework was introduced in the Communications Act 2003, which was designed before the arrival of online companies such as Apple+, Amazon Prime and Netflix in their current form. The government will also take forward existing commitments to legislate to strengthen public service broadcasters’ “prominence” online so that their video-on-demand content can easily be found and accessed on smart TVs and other platforms and devices. ENDS Notes to Editors:
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