HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

UK – CONTENT AND AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA 

The future of public service broadcasting has been a growing subject of discussion in recent years, particularly in relation to how broadcasters can compete in a competitive digital media environment. In November 2022, the House of Lords debated this issue, following the UK government's white paper published by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee titled: "The government's vision for the broadcasting sector". The House of Lords noted that the White Paper recognised many of the challenges faced by PSBs and the proposed solutions to support public service broadcasters ("PSBs").

Key date(s)

• 28 April 2022 – The UK government published "The government's vision for the broadcasting sector" (the "White Paper").
• 10 May 2022 – The Media Bill is announced.
• 3 November 2022 – The House of Lords debated the future of public service broadcasting.
• 5 January 2023 – The Culture Secretary confirmed that Channel 4 remain publicly owned.

Status

On 3 November 2022, the House of Lords debated the future of public service broadcasting ("PSB") to address the changes in the media landscape as a result of the rising popularity of video-on-demand ("VOD") services.

This followed the publication of the White Paper which suggested a number of updates to the broadcasting regulations in the UK to meet the demands of the new age of streaming. The White Paper suggested that the following changes to the broadcasting sector be bought into effect:

• new regulations for VOD services;
• revisions to the remit and regulatory frameworks for PSB;
• changes to the BBC funding model; and
• privatisation of Channel 4.

However, in January 2023, the government made a U-turn announcing that Channel 4 will remain under public ownership after reviewing its business case. However, the government is planning to give Channel 4 greater flexibility as discussions continue regarding Channel 4's remit.

 What it hopes to achieve 

The White Paper, which the House of Lords drew upon, sought to introduce numerous policies geared towards creating a level playing field between PSBs and VOD service providers in the UK.

The House of Lords suggested that the Media Bill give Ofcom the powers referred to in the White Paper which will directly impact VOD services. The government proposed to enable Ofcom to establish a code, to impose standards on VOD services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. Although primarily aimed at larger VOD services such as Netflix and NOW, the proposed introduction of additional regulatory standards would impact VOD services which are currently not subject to standards regulations in the UK.

The House of Lords debated the challenges encountered by PSBs and particularly expressed their opposition to attempts to undermine the BBC. They noted their disapproval of attempts to reduce the BBC's funding, particularly through freezes to licencing fee income while production costs continue to rise. When drawing on these issues, the House of Lords noted the growing competition from online services, which operate globally benefitting from strategic advantages and fewer obligations than PSBs. The House of Lords raised concerns that if some channels ceased to be PSBs, it would inevitably lead to a reduction in UK-produced content resulting in increased reliance on US-produced content.

It was the House of Lords opinion that the most important issue to address to create a level playing field between PSBs and VOD services was updating the prominence regime so that content from PSBs can be easily located in the evolving digital age. For example, by enabling PSBs to show content on online platforms, in addition to their main channels.

The House of Lords also expressed their disapproval of the government's plans to privatise Channel 4, with the government later announcing on 5 January 2023 that it would not continue with the plans to privatise Channel 4.

Who does it impact? 

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Key points 

1. The Media Bill

• • In May 2022, the government announced its decision to introduce the Media Bill to deliver the proposed reforms aimed at creating a level playing field between PSBs and VOD service providers in light of changes in market conditions. The government has not committed to a time for the Media Bill to come into effect, simply stating that it would introduce the bill when parliamentary time allowed

2. Prominence

• • In July 2021, Ofcom published its review of prominence for PSB which set out recommendations to the government for a new framework to keep PSB TV prominent in an online world. The government has said that it committed to acting on Ofcom’s prominence recommendations and it is expected that issues relating to prominence will be addressed in the Medial Bill

3. The relevance of PSBs

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This blog post provides an overview of a key recent or upcoming development in digital regulation in the UK or EU as part of our horizon scanning timeline which can be found below.

Contacts