FremantleMedia Chief Comments on Digital Britain Report

LONDON: Speaking at the Westminster Media Forum, Tony Cohen, the CEO of FremantleMedia, addressed key elements of Lord Carter’s recently released Digital Britain Report and questioned its support of an alliance between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4.

"Encouraging [Channel 4] to be a rights owner represents a serious threat to the basis for one of Britain’s great export successes—the U.K. production sector," Cohen stated. He also took issue with the report’s support for the BBC’s current commercial activities. "Program rights are already efficiently exploited by a ferociously competitive private distribution sector."

Cohen also stated his support for the U.K.’s Terms of Trade, which allow producers to retain the rights to their productions. "The Terms of Trade allows producers rather than broadcasters to keep and exploit program rights, and enables them to re-invest in development. The ownership of rights attracts and focuses the best talent and is one of the main reasons for the U.K.’s astonishing international success in television entertainment. I am delighted that the Digital Britain Report unequivocally confirms that the Terms of Trade are ‘working well’ and that there isn’t any need for the Government to change the framework."

Cohen went on to address the issue of micropayments and welcomed the report’s support for low-cost pay-per-view models for on-demand videos online. “Micropayments have often been attacked as an online business model because of the familiarity of Internet users with ‘free content.’ FremantleMedia’s own research on its viewer panel however, indicates that there is a willingness to pay small amounts from as little as 5p to as high as £2."

He suggested that on-demand offerings be repositioned as premium services that would allow users to access content on the TV and the PC. “This is something that Project Canvas could really help with, as it will enable any broadband subscriber with Freeview to get such a service. It could be one route to unlocking pay revenues for on-demand content and should be supported."

In order for the micropayment model to succeed, Cohen went on to say, safe, legal platforms are needed for producers, with stringent measures to protect their IP. He also noted that “intermediate sanctions” over rights infringements, such as reducing bandwidth, are an essential deterrant against piracy. “Unfortunately, the report proposes such a blizzard of conditions, hurdles, trigger points and timetable uncertainties before ‘intermediate sanctions’ can be used, that it is unlikely to be an effective policy for several years, if ever."

Cohen also proposed the establishment of a rights holder alliance, representing all those threatened by piracy, to lobby for better IP-protection models.

He concluded: “For producers like FremantleMedia, the digital age offers a wide array of creative and commercial possibilities. The Digital Britain Report is a first step on the way to realizing these opportunities for everyone. Let’s keep working on it.”