Urgent steps must be taken to ensure that public service media content is easy to find and discover on third-party platforms, under new Ofcom recommendations, that are intended to help to secure the system’s survival.
The system is now under serious threat, says Ofcom, with audience choice wider than it’s ever been, broadcasters experiencing fundamental financial challenges and structural change in the advertising market and. And in this environment, public service broadcasters are finding it much harder to fund the production and distribution of high-quality UK content to all audiences.
To help address the challenges and to support its future provision, Ofcom is to set out a six-point action plan. The recommendations would require a collective effort from PSBs, social media and video sharing platforms, the Government, and Ofcom.
With more viewing shifting to third-party platforms, Public Service Media companies need to work with these platforms so audiences can see and find PSM content, says the regulator.
As a priority, public service broadcasters should work urgently with YouTube, to ensure that PSM content is prominent and easy to find on the platforms, and on fair commercial terms. This is particularly important for news and children’s content, and Ofcom believes there is a strong case for Government to legislate to enable the change.
YouTube is the world’s most popular video site, watched by 43% of children aged 4-17 on a weekly basis. TV screens are also rapidly becoming more popular for watching YouTube content.[2]
Stable and adequate funding to sustain a broad range of PSM content, including news and children’s
Additional public funding will be necessary to support specific genres, as advocated for by industry, is for the Government to consider. Ofcom recommends that priority be given to socially valuable but commercially less viable genres, such as news, local news and children’s content.
In its review of the options for the future of digital terrestrial television (the network that supports Freeview), Ofcom said a decision by Government would be needed within the next two years and it continues to believe a decision in early 2026 would allow sufficient time. A later decision risks undermining the inve
stment and innovation needed to put universal TV distribution on a sustainable footing inclusive of all audiences. Delivering content over terrestrial masts, as well as multiple digital platforms, comes at a significant cost. An early decision is necessary to allow sufficient time for the planning, investment and innovation needed to manage an inclusive transition.
Scale is critical for the public service broadcasters and other domestic broadcasters to connect with audiences and compete with global streaming platforms – who, in some cases, they depend on to reach viewers.
Competition and plurality need to be preserved, but broadcasters must be more ambitious in pursuing strategic and technological partnerships.
Media literacy skills are essential for using, understanding and navigating digital services, and for critically engaging with news and other content. In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to decipher fact from fiction or spot fraudulent practices, the regulator strongly recommends that public service broadcasters – who are uniquely placed to support audiences – invest in this area.
Ofcom will soon publish a ‘statement of recommendations’ under the Online Safety Act, setting out how online services – including social media and video-sharing platforms – should enable media literacy by design.
Much of the current legislative and regulatory framework was designed for a world of traditional, linear TV.
Alongside its implementation of the Media Act, which provides critical support for PSM, Ofcom is launching a fundamental review of its regulation of broadcast TV and radio. It is looking for input from stakeholders about the priority areas for reforming regulation and supporting the future provision of PSM content.
Ofcom will look at what further reform is needed to ensure regulation supports all audiences benefitting from PSM content in the future and how to ensure audiences are protected from harm wherever they are. This may involve legislative change as well as changes to its regulation.
The first step will be a comprehensive call for evidence this autumn. It is also working with Government on its BBC Charter review which will play a central role in supporting the future of PSM.
Public service media supports the UK’s production sector – a global leader which contributes meaningfully to the creative economy and attracts significant investment into the UK.
But viewers now spend less than half of their in-home viewing on traditional linear TV channels, and this is declining. Last year, fewer than half (48%) of 16-24-year-olds tuned into broadcast TV in an average week, while younger children spend far more time watching YouTube.
Additionally, PSM companies’ video-on-demand players only account for 9% of all viewing, significantly less than subscription streaming services (15%) and online video sharing platforms (19%). Consumption of online news – where misinformation and disinformation can thrive – continues to edge further ahead of broadcast TV news.[3]
Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Broadcasting and Media Group Director, Ofcom said: “Public service media is stitched into the cultural fabric of UK society. It starts conversations, educates and informs, and brings us together in moments of national importance.
“But in a world dominated by global streaming platforms, public service media risks becoming an endangered species, and time is running out to intervene to protect it.
“Our six-point plan would involve collective action from broadcasters, online platforms, the Government and Ofcom. It maps out a clear route that would help sustain public service media for the future.”
Pippa Considine
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