Ofcom is consulting on our provisional view of the
television selection services we propose should be designated
under the Media Act 2024.
It is critical that viewers can easily find and discover the
diverse range of high-quality content public service broadcasters
(PSBs) offer for UK audiences, including trusted and accurate
news. The Media Act 2024 introduced a new online availability and
prominence regime for how PSB TV players – such as BBC iPlayer,
ITVX, Channel 4 stream, 5, STV player, S4C Clic – are distributed
on connected TV platforms – referred to in the Act as television
selection services.
Television selection services designated by the Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport will be required to ensure
designated PSB TV players and their content are available,
prominent, and easily accessible.
We are now consulting on our provisional
view that 14 services should be designated.
The consultation closes on 16 September 2025. We will take full
account of the views of stakeholders and any further available
information when making our final recommendations to the
Secretary of State, later this year.
Implementing the
Media Act – decisions
We are also today publishing final decisions on some other
aspects of our work to implement the Media Act:
Designation of Public
Service Broadcasters' Internet Programme
Services
We are setting out the methods which we will apply for
determining which PSB TV players – formally known as ‘internet
programme services' (IPS) – satisfy the conditions, set out in
legislation, to benefit from the new availability and prominence
regime, and therefore should be designated. BBC iPlayer will be
automatically designated.
Revised Guidance for
Public Service Broadcasters on Commissioning Codes of
Practice
As a result of changes introduced by the Media Act 2024 to update
the regulatory framework for PSBs, we have made changes to the
guidance for PSBs for producing their commissioning Codes of
Practice. The changes afford PSBs' greater flexibility and
freedom in how they deliver their quotas for independent
productions, by enabling them to use their on-demand players to
meet independent production quotas.
Statement of
Programme Policy and Statement of Media Content Policy
Guidance
The Media Act gives the PSBs greater flexibility as to how they
deliver their remits. Following consultation, we are updating our
guidance to licensed PSBs about preparing their Statement of
Programme Policy – the documents through which they explain how
they are fulfilling their remit.