{"id":612845,"date":"2026-02-24T13:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/612845\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:29:12","slug":"streamers-in-u-k-set-to-come-under-enhanced-regulation-from-ofcom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/612845\/","title":{"rendered":"Streamers in U.K. Set to Come Under ‘Enhanced Regulation’ from Ofcom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tStreaming platforms in the U.K. are set to come under \u201cenhanced regulation\u201d from media regulator Ofcom<\/a>, which already oversees television and radio broadcasting in the country. The rules will give Ofcom the power to accept viewer complaints and investigate streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe U.K. government is set to implement another layer of legislation to the Media Act 2024 to bring video on demand services in the U.K. under Ofcom\u2019s eye. It will apply to the biggest streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon\u2019s Prime Video and Disney+ as well as broadcaster platforms such as ITVX and Channel 4.<\/p>\n

\n\tAny video on demand platform with more than 500,000 users will automatically be designated a \u201cTier 1\u201d service, bringing them under a new video on demand standards code, which will be similar to the Broadcasting Code followed by traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe code will include rules on accuracy and impartiality and protecting audiences against \u201charmful or offensive\u201d material. Where Ofcom considers there has been a breach of the code they will have the power to take action.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere will be a public consultation to establish the video on demand standards code, giving the public and streamers to put forward their views on what should be included.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe news comes as increasing numbers of viewers abandon traditional television for on demand streaming platforms. According to the latest report from U.K. ratings body Barb<\/a>, live TV viewing dropped significantly between 2022 and 2025, from 60% to 45% of all viewing. It also found that a third of audiences who turned on a TV set in the U.K. went to streaming platforms or YouTube as their first choice of viewing \u2014 the same number as those who went to traditional broadcasters. (The final third was miscellaneous). <\/p>\n

\n\tVariety understands the new rules will not apply to video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, which are already subject to the U.K.\u2019s Online Safety Act 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe know that the way audiences watch TV has fundamentally changed,\u201d said culture secretary Lisa Nandy. \u201cMillions now choose to watch content on video-on-demand platforms alongside or, in the case of many young people, instead of traditional TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Media Act introduced vital updates to our regulatory framework which this government is committed to implementing. By bringing the most popular video-on-demand services under enhanced regulation by Ofcom, we are strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting our vibrant media sector that continues to innovate and drive growth across the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Streaming platforms in the U.K. are set to come under \u201cenhanced regulation\u201d from media regulator Ofcom, which already…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":612846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[30],"tags":[171,63296,173,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-612845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ofcom","tag-tv","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116125851206759900","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}