Ofcom Releases Report on British Kids’ Market

LONDON, October 3: According to a report released today by
British media regulator Ofcom, “the future provision of new U.K.-originated
programming for children, particularly drama and factual, looks increasingly
uncertain.”

The regulator has found that investment in first-run
original programming by the commercial public-service broadcasters—ITV1,
GMTV, Channel 4 and Five—has halved in real terms since 1998. The
commercial children’s channels (Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon
Network) do commission some U.K. programming, but this represents 10 percent of
total British investment in new programs. The BBC’s spending on kids’ fare has
risen, but Ofcom maintains that “its long term commitments to children’s programming,
as set out in its service licenses, are not sufficient to guarantee current
levels of output and spend.”

The total volume of children’s programming broadcast across
all channels has grown from more than 20,000 hours in 1998 to 113,000 hours in
2006. Of that number last year, just 17 percent originated from the U.K.

By genre, animation dominates, accounting for 61 percent of
hours broadcast last year; drama’s share has fallen from 17 percent to 12
percent. The proportion of preschool programming has grown, from 10 percent of
output in 1998 to 19 percent in 2006. Factual and entertainment programming
accounted for 9 percent of output between them in 2006, down from 13 percent in
1998.

British kids prefer local programming, much of which is
commissioned by the public-service broadcasters. While U.K. kids’ shows
accounted for 17 percent of total children’s hours, they delivered a 38 percent
share of viewing.

Competition—the number of dedicated children’s
channels has soared from 6 in 1998 to 25 this year—has led to a declining
share of viewing for public-service broadcasters. In 2006, 82 percent of
children’s viewing was to dedicated children’s channels (like CBBC, Disney
Channel and Nickelodeon), with only 18 percent going to the main terrestrial PSB
channels.

Overall revenues to commercial children’s broadcasters in
the U.K. have fallen from £178 million in 2001 to £141 million in 2006, a
decline of 21 percent, with advertising revenues down by 36 percent during the
same period. Spending on first-run original children’s programming across all
broadcasters fell 14 percent from an estimated £127 million in real terms in
1998 to £109 million in 2006.

Other key findings include that over 70 percent of children
claim to have a TV in their bedroom. They spend on average just under 16 hours
per week watching TV. Over 90 percent of households with children have access
to digital television.