The UK’s major broadcasters have come together to call on the government to take action to safeguard the future of public service media.
BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have joined with MG Alba, S4C and STV in the publication of a letter timed to coincide with the RTS Cambridge event.
They argue that while they compete for ratings, they also share a duty to serve the British public through trusted news, distinctive UK-made programmes, and fuel the creative economy.
Their five-point plan coincides with an appearance by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy at Cambridge, who warned that the government is ready to change legislation to ensure public service content is carried prominently on platforms such as YouTube.
The five points are:
- Prominence – Ensure PSB content is easy to find on all platforms and devices, on fair terms.
- Trusted journalism – Support impartial news online and secure fair deals with social platforms.
- UK storytelling – Provide tax credits, sustainable funding, and proportionate regulation to sustain homegrown content and key genres.
- Managed digital transition – Plan now for a switchover to internet-delivered TV in the 2030s, ensuring no one is left behind.
- Global competitiveness – Remove barriers to partnerships and regulate for growth and innovation.
The PSBs warn that without bold intervention, the UK risks losing a unique cultural and economic asset.
The letter in full
The UK’s Public Service Broadcasters may be rivals when it comes to ratings, but we all share one goal: our fundamental duty is to serve the British people.
We make diverse and distinctive homegrown television that unites the UK’s nations and regions in shared cultural moments. We provide impartial news that helps safeguard our democracy. We act as the cornerstone of the UK’s thriving production sector and the backbone of our creative economy.
This unique public service impact has never been more needed.
In a fractured society, we bring audiences together – whether for gripping dramas or breathtaking football finals. As misinformation and disinformation thrive, people turn to us for news they can trust from both their local area and around the world. In tough times, we are engines of economic growth, investing in programme-making across the UK and nurturing the homegrown talent of today and tomorrow.
This unique contribution makes the UK’s Public Service Broadcasters and our creative
industries the envy of the world. Yet the risk we face is that global online platforms, rather than distinctly British broadcasters, will come to dominate our cultural landscape.
These platforms may be impressive technology businesses but they are driven by profit, not purpose. The content they host is mostly not subject to the same safeguards and regulatory standards as ours. They have no mandate to contribute to the shared social fabric of the UK.
As the market and audiences fracture and costs rise, we believe it is time to speak with one voice to call for action to secure the future of our irreplaceable public service media sector.
We are already rising to meet the challenge, re-inventing ourselves by transforming our services for the digital age. However, we cannot do it alone. We can’t respond to all these risks without bold intervention.
As we gather this week for the biennial industry event, the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, RTS Cambridge, we’re uniting to call for five specific actions that will not only safeguard but, more importantly, enhance public service broadcasting.
We need our public service broadcasters to stand out in a crowded online world. That means action to ensure our content is prominent on devices and platforms where audiences spend their time – not just smart TVs but also video sharing platforms like YouTube, and on fair commercial terms that don’t undermine our ability to deliver our remit.
We need trusted, independent journalism to thrive. This includes promoting impartial news on the platforms young people use, and securing the right deals with social media companies that promote accurate reporting and combat misinformation.
We need to keep investing in UK storytelling. That means tax credits for homegrown stories that nurture the UK’s deep talent pool – critical to attracting inward investment – as well as for important genres that help to build understanding, support social cohesion and create cultural common ground. It also means ensuring sustainable public funding for the BBC, as well as S4C and MG ALBA – the Welsh and Gaelic language broadcasters. And it means supportive and proportionate regulation for ITV, STV, Channel 4 and 5 – who are entirely commercially funded.
We need a managed transition to our TV future. Government and industry should prepare now for a switchover to internet-delivered television, which requires a clear commitment from ministers to set a date very soon for switchover in the 2030s. The opportunities for audiences are huge, and there are vast broader benefits to be unlocked from a fully connected Britain. But we must ensure we support those who need it, so we don’t leave people behind.
Finally, we need to work together to compete globally. That means removing unnecessary barriers so that public service broadcasters can form strategic partnerships with each other as well as non-PSBs. It means regulating for growth and innovation, reflecting the global nature of today’s media markets.
Action is now urgent. PSBs could add a further £10 billion to the UK economy by 2035, according to the latest research. The media and entertainment sector more widely can deliver more than a quarter of the Government’s investment target for the whole creative sector. But it requires the right decisions to be taken now and the right policy to secure the growth this country needs.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to the creative industries as one of the UK’s most exciting and high-potential growth opportunities. We also welcome the recent report from Ofcom, the media regulator, which stressed the importance of PSBs as the mainstay of a world-leading sector. But we must all act now. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
Our Public Service Broadcasters represent the best of the UK in a highly competitive global marketplace. Fail to act, and we risk all this being lost to future generations. Get it right, and we bolster our economy while making a priceless investment in information we can trust, moments we can share, and a cultural inheritance of which we can all be proud.
