British media regulator Ofcom has warned that traditional U.K. broadcasting is unlikely to survive without a radical overhaul of regulations and an increased focus on transforming to meet the needs of the digital age.<\/p>\n
Ofcom’s Small Screen: Big Debate<\/em> reviewed public-service broadcasting (PSB) today, exploring how the sector can be strengthened amid financing challenges and changing consumer behavior.<\/p>\n PSB is still hugely valuable to consumers, per the Ofcom survey, particularly trusted news content. Audiences also value the ability of PSBs to deliver mass viewing events and represent local communities. PSBs also provide content that often can’t be found elsewhere, such as original U.K.\u00a0children\u2019s, education and religious programming. PSBs are also core to the U.K. media economy, spending\u00a0nearly \u00a33 billion on content each year.<\/p>\n However, younger audiences are turning away from BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 in favor of global streamers, Ofcom says. Last year, just 38 percent of the media diet of the 16-to-34 set was traditional broadcast content, as compared with 67 percent among all adults. One in four viewers of streaming services say they can imagine watching no broadcast TV at all in five years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n For PSBs to remain relevant, changes are needed, Ofcom says. Laws and regulations need to be updated; “Without radical changes to support PSBs\u2019 shift from traditional broadcasting to online, the challenges facing them may become acute,” Ofcom says. “We are calling for a new framework to establish clear goals for public service broadcasters, with greater choice over how they achieve them, and quotas to safeguard vital areas such as news. Companies should be required to set out, measure and report on their plans, with Ofcom holding them to account.”<\/p>\n Ofcom says that new providers could help deliver public-service content\u2014providing “different skills, expertise and online experience\u2013leading to wider benefits to audiences and the economy.”<\/p>\n PSBs also require new funding models that can provide greater stability. “Public funding decisions are a matter for Government, so we have set out a range of options, including international comparisons, outlining the benefits and drawbacks. These include full or part subscription models. There is also potential for cross-media funding\u2014such as a local or regional media fund, supporting collaboration between TV, radio, online and press publishers to strengthen local news.”<\/p>\n Partnerships will also be important for PSBs, helping them to compete more effectively with the global giants.<\/p>\n “Our traditional broadcasters are among the finest in the world,” said Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive. “But television has witnessed a blizzard of change and innovation, with audiences turning to online services with bigger budgets. For everything we\u2019ve gained, we risk losing the kind of outstanding U.K. content that people really value. So there\u2019s an urgent need to reform the rules and build a stronger system of public-service media that can flourish in the digital age. That could mean big changes, such as a wider range of firms tasked with providing high-quality shows made for, in and about the U.K.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" British media regulator Ofcom has warned that traditional U.K. broadcasting is unlikely to survive without a radical overhaul of regulations and an increased focus on transforming to meet the needs of the digital age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":10686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,69],"tags":[689],"class_list":["post-10685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-analysis","category-top-stories","tag-ofcom"],"yoast_head":"\n