London – The UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media & Sport announced it is “looking at options to ensure [Public Service Media] content is prominent, discoverable and promoted where audiences are watching TV, including within third-party platform user interfaces.” This could mean promoting UK “Public Service Broadcasters” (terrestrial broadcasters, such as the BBC and ITV) at the expense of other creators in video sharing and other digital platforms.
The consultation states that the Government prefers “voluntary agreements,” but “should these partnerships not go far enough in delivering our objectives, we would need to consider legislating.” The consultation also suggests that options could include prioritising other domestic media (e.g. newspapers) in a similar manner, exacerbating the impact on the prominence of smaller or non-UK creators that would not be in scope.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Senior Director and head of CCIA’s London office, Matthew Sinclair:
“Public service broadcasters have already successfully engaged with streaming and social platforms, building tens of millions of followers across different channels. There are no fundamental obstacles to users finding their content.”
“Intervening in how digital services organise, rank and recommend content to users is a radical departure from device-level requirements for prominence. It would mean users were served content less relevant to their interests and would be unfair to the many smaller creators working to find an audience. The Government also risks a repeat of the story in Canada, where proposals are being revised in the face of longstanding U.S. opposition to regulations which require global companies to subsidise and provide preferences to domestic media. British media has often won an audience around the world, and the broadcasters should work to make content that attracts new viewers in Britain and abroad, not ask the Government to dig them a regulatory moat here in the UK.”
