Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation 22

Sixth Report - The future of public service broadcasting Published 25 Mar 2021 Paragraph 101 Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee The future of public service broadcasting All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)

The findings of the Competition Commission in 2009 are now outdated, given the rate at which the market has changed and the dominance of global streaming services, and PSBs should be allowed to collaborate so that they have a better chance of competing in the now crowded video on demand market. Whilst we hope that prominence legislation will be extended to online platforms within the next 18 months, the Government’s track record on addressing issues within the media ecology does not fill us with confidence so PSBs should be taking steps to maximise their own bargaining power, and attract audiences, in this digital age. Rather than waiting for the Government to help them, we recommend that PSBs help themselves by exploring options for collaboration on a single video on demand platform, and Ofcom should support PSBs in this endeavour. We call on the competition policy authorities to make clear that, given the evolution of the broadcasting landscape, there is no automatic objection to such collaboration on market dominance grounds.

From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Sixth Report - The future of public service broadcasting (HC 156), paragraph 101, 25 March 2021

Government response

The future of public service broadcasting: Ofcom Response to Committee’s Sixth Report of Session 2019–21

The government responded to the whole report on 3 November 2021.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

Ofcom responds to the Committee's recommendations by pointing to its existing and planned work, agreeing on the importance of diversity in senior roles but stating it does not have legal powers to set diversity targets.

On local and regional news, Ofcom has commissioned further analysis of network news coverage across the UK, which it hopes to publish "at the beginning of next year".
On a single video platform, Ofcom found "some support" for one and is "encouraging PSBs to pursue opportunities to collaborate", noting collaboration "doesn't have to be exclusively amongst PSBs".
On employment data and monitoring forms, Ofcom says it lacks legal powers to require some information from non-BBC PSBs, and will launch a call for inputs, "expected in Spring 2022", and "intend to review" its monitoring forms.
On annual review of regional production guidelines, Ofcom says frequent changes make assessment "more difficult" and points to spot checks, an enhanced complaints process and annual PSB reporting to monitor the regime.

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First Special Report - The future of public service broadcasting: Government Response to Committee’s Sixth Report of Session 2019–21

Published 17 June 2021.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government agrees with the Committee that the need for public service broadcasting remains strong, says it is reviewing the system and will set out its position and next steps "later this year", and disagrees with parts of the report.

On universality, it agrees this is "a core tenet" of public service broadcasting, but "does not agree" with the Committee's link between full-fibre availability and a wholly online system.
On licence fee funding, it "notes" the Committee's view but does "not agree" that a decision is needed now. It has "no plans to change the model" before the Charter ends in December 2027.
On prominence, it has "committed to acting on Ofcom's prominence recommendations including through legislation" "as soon as the legislative timetable allows", and expects to set out next steps later this year.
On children's content, it says DCMS and the administrators will conduct a full evaluation of the pilot, after which "a decision will be taken on whether to close, maintain or expand the scheme".

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