MIGRAIN: Industries - Public service broadcasting

 Ofcom review of PSB in Britain

In 2020 Ofcom published its findings from a five year review of public service broadcasting in Britain. Read the introduction to their report - pages 3-7. You'll need your Greenford Google login to view the document.

1) Look at page 3. Why is it a critical time for public service broadcasting? 
This is because audience viewing habits tend to change frequently and due to other growing competition found all over the world.

2) Read page 4. How has TV viewing changed in recent years? 

Live broadcasting has been in a decline as audiences prefer a form of content where it is more suitable in their preferred time. Audience have valued PSB's objectives and purposes  such as trustworthy news channels. Companies such as Sky has taken an initiative to have a streaming service such as one similar to Netflix.

3) Still on page 4, what aspects of PSB do audiences value and enjoy? 
They value the purpose of PSB  as it includes trustworthy news sources such as the BBC and they enjoy shows that focus on British values, cultures and life.

4) Look at pages 4-5. Find and note down the statistics in this section on how much TV audiences tend to watch and how they watch it. 
In the recent years live TV has been in a decline due to timing inconvenience so in order to tackle this problem companies such as Sky have introduced a streaming service one similar to Netflix.

5) Read the section on page 5 discussing the importance of PSB. Again, find the statistics and explain the value of public service broadcasting in Britain.

PSB provides around 32,000 hours of content ranging from children';s shows, reality, news, etc. however

6) Look at the section on commercial challenges. How have revenues fallen for PSB channels?

Between 2014-2018 advertising revenue has fallen by 3.8% per year. This is due to on-demand services growing in popularity and how PSB services have gone into decline over the years.

7) Read page 6. What services increasingly play a role in our media lives in the digital age? 

Services such as streaming or on-demand have played a big part of people's lives as they can be accessed anywhere at any time and have access to a variety of shoes as long as they have an internet connection.

Goldsmiths report on Public Service TV

Read this report from Goldsmiths University - A future for public service television: content and platforms in a digital world.

1) What does the report state has changed in the UK television market in the last 20 years?

It talks about how over the years it has been in a decline as the increase of on-demand content has taken over massively and has become very popular among the younger generation, this is due to the time inconvenience that it comes with as PSB content is based on time so a person would either have to wait or if they missed it then they would have to wait again or not know what happened.

2) Look at page 4. What are the principles that the report suggests need to be embedded in regulation of public service broadcasting in future?
They mention how they must return towards the public service in order to reach their licence standards and obligations, another thing they mention is retransmisson fees should be paid by public service TV operators. They also want Ofcom to supply the occasional reviews in order to keep check of content such as content only suitable for adults. The final thing that they talk about is Ofcom monitoring the independent production sector in case any action must be put into place.

3) What does the report say about the BBC?
They state that the BBC is the most important part of television ecology, however the model of universalities are underpinning, however they state that it is hard to sustain due to the licence fee being very vulnerable in the face of technology and its changes that it rapidly undergoes.

4) According to the report, how should the BBC be funded in future?
They suggest things such as revoking the licence fee and then replacing it with a more progressive funding system such as a "platform-neutral house hold" fee, a supplement to to council tax.

5) What does the report say about Channel 4?
They state that Channel 4 is a critical place in public service ecology as they support the independent production sector that aims more at diverse audiences. however they have been threatened with privatisation that would otherwise threaten the public service remit.

6) How should Channel 4 operate in future?
They suggest that channel 4 is to not be privatised at all and should make the government state their views of channel 4.

7) Look at page 10 - new kids on the block. What does the report say about new digital content providers and their link to public service broadcasting?
They appear out of the PSB and therefore making it more accessible and its constant growth, however places such as museums are trying to make their content more video based so it is more accessible towards people with a device.

Final questions - YOUR opinion on public service broadcasting

1) Should the BBC retain its position as the UK’s public service broadcaster?
I think that they should retain their position as they are funded via the government which makes the news more trustworthy than others.

2) Is there a role for the BBC in the 21st century digital world?
I think there might be a place for the BBC as they do provide news, entertainment and such, however I'm not sure it'll last too long, but they could evolve their content more so that it becomes more widely used.

3) Should the BBC funding model (licence fee) change? How?

I think that they should have some sort of code in which allows them to watch BBC content, so the on the TV it require some sort one time redeemable code so that they can access the BBC content and from then on they can take the money monthly or yearly or however it usually works.