{"id":280147,"date":"2025-07-21T14:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T14:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/280147\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T14:27:11","slug":"uk-public-service-tv-endangered-in-youtube-era-says-ofcom-public-service-broadcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/280147\/","title":{"rendered":"UK public service TV \u2018endangered\u2019 in YouTube era, says Ofcom | Public service broadcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Public service television such as the news, ITV\u2019s Mr Bates vs the Post Office<\/a> and the BBC nature series Wild Isles<\/a> is becoming an \u201cendangered species\u201d in the streaming era and ministers should pass laws to make it easier to discover on websites such as YouTube, the media regulator has said.<\/p>\n

A report by Ofcom warns that UK-focused programming made by the British public service broadcasters (PSBs) \u2013 the BBC, ITV and Channels 4 and 5 \u2013 is under threat and there is a \u201cstrong case\u201d for legislation to make sure it is easy to find on third-party platforms, most notably the Alphabet-owned video-sharing site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ofcom said the need for effective prominence extends to public service media content such as news, children\u2019s shows and some original programmes \u201cwhich reflect British culture and bring the country together\u201d, made by the PSBs and Sky.<\/p>\n

The regulator said the British public service model was \u201cnow under serious threat\u201d amid a viewer exodus from traditional TV viewing to global streaming platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ofcom highlights as a \u201cpriority\u201d that PSBs should \u201cwork urgently\u201d with YouTube<\/a>, which dominates streaming on devices and is also rapidly becoming more popular for viewing through smart TVs, to ensure their content gains prominence for viewers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is particularly important for news and children\u2019s content, and we believe there is a strong case for government to legislate to enable the change,\u201d Ofcom said.<\/p>\n

Mr Bates vs the Post Office, made by ITV, has been cited as an example of powerful public service television. Photograph: ITV\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Its report said non-PSBs such as Netflix do also make high-quality UK drama that \u201ccontribute substantially to British culture and public debate\u201d. Examples cited include Netflix\u2019s global hit Adolescence<\/a>, Say Nothing on Disney+ and Sky\u2019s Artist of the Year series.<\/p>\n

However, it said that unlike the PSBs, which operate under legislation to make public service content universally available, these services often have their content behind a paywall, and they are not required to commission British content or invest in homemade productions across the UK.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Media Act came into force which ensured that the content and streaming services offered by PSBs, such as the iPlayer and ITVX, were given due prominence on TV-based services such as pay-TV, smart TVs and on other streaming devices.<\/p>\n

Ofcom said non-public service broadcasters make high-quality content that contributes to British culture, such as Netflix\u2019s Adolescence. Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

However, this legislation did not extend to video-sharing platforms, a sector dominated by YouTube, the most popular platform among young children in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic service media is stitched into the cultural fabric of UK society. It starts conversations, educates and informs, and brings us together in moments of national importance,\u201d said Cristina Nicolotti Squires, broadcasting and media group director at Ofcom. \u201cBut in a world dominated by global streaming platforms, public service media risks becoming an endangered species, and time is running out to intervene to protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ofcom research, 43% of children aged four to 17 watch YouTube on a weekly basis, while last year fewer than half of 16- to 24-year-olds tuned into broadcast TV in an average week.<\/p>\n

The issue is compounded by research showing that the streaming services offered by public service media companies only account for 9% of all viewing, as they struggle to hold on to viewers in the streaming era.<\/p>\n

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Ofcom research has found 43% of children aged four to 17 watch YouTube on a weekly basis. Photograph: True Images\/Alamy<\/p>\n

Subscription streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon\u2019s Prime Video account for 15% and 19% goes to online video-sharing platforms such as YouTube.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumption of online news, where misinformation and disinformation can thrive, continues to edge further ahead of broadcast TV news,\u201d Ofcom said.<\/p>\n

Its report also said additional public funding would be needed to support genres such as news and children\u2019s content, findings published as the government heads into a review of the BBC\u2019s royal charter, including the future of the licence fee funding model<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recommend that that priority be given to socially valuable but commercially less viable genres, such as news, local news and children\u2019s content,\u201d Ofcom said.<\/p>\n

The regulator said the issue of additional funding for public service TV was \u201cfor the government to consider\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ofcom also said it planned to launch a \u201cfundamental\u201d review of the regulation of broadcast TV and radio.<\/p>\n

The regulator, which is kicking off a \u201ccomprehensive\u201d call for evidence in the autumn, said that it is aiming to \u201cstreamline regulation and strip away any outdated and unnecessary restrictions\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Public service television such as the news, ITV\u2019s Mr Bates vs the Post Office and the BBC nature…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[77,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-280147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114891695220924432","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}