Ofcom Begins Kids’ Programming Review

LONDON, February 13: Ofcom has begun its review of kids’
programming on the U.K.’s public-service broadcasters.

The Ofcom review will look at the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, S4C
and Five, assessing “the availability within those services of a suitable
quantity and range of high quality and original programs for children and young
people.”

The review kicks off with a research project focusing on the
current state of children’s television and other children’s media in the U.K.;
the role of public service broadcasting in providing content to children; the
prospects for the future delivery of a wide range of high quality and original
content for children and the factors which are likely to influence this; and
relevant international perspectives. Ofcom intends to publish the findings of
its research this summer.

There are 18 dedicated children’s channels available in the
U.K., reaching more than 63 percent of homes with children. A further 20
percent of households with children have access to CBBC, CBeebies and CITV via
Freeview. Ofcom has expressed its concern with the decline in overall kids’ TV
viewing over the past three years, particularly on the terrestrials. The
British media regulator also cited the increasing commercial pressures on the
provision of original PSB programming for commercially funded bodies, as well
as the sustainability of broadcasters’ current commitments to kids’ fare.