Ofcom calls for more public-service media prominence on YouTube
Ofcom has set out an action plan to boost prominence of public-service media (PSM) on third-party platforms.
“Urgent steps must be taken to ensure that public-service media content is easy to find and discover on third-party platforms,” the media regulator said, warning: “Public-service TV is endangered.”
PSM is under threat, according to Ofcom, due to increasing choice for audiences, financial challenges facing broadcasters and structural change in the advertising market.
Ofcom’s action plan would “require a collective effort from PSBs [public-service broadcasters], social media and video-sharing platforms, the government and Ofcom,” it added.
The recommendations have been made against a backdrop of declining linear TV viewing and a shift towards YouTube for younger demographics.
In addition, broadcaster VOD offerings account for just 9% of all viewing — much lower than streaming services (15%) and video-sharing platforms (19%), Ofcom pointed out.
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Recommendations from Ofcom
Ofcom has made six recommendations in the action plan.
Prominence and discoverability on third-party platforms: PSBs should work with YouTube “as a priority” to ensure its content is easy to find on the platform and on “fair commercial terms.”
This is particularly crucial for children’s content and news.
Ofcom also suggested that the government should legislate to support this change.
Stable funding to ensure range of PSM: The government should consider providing additional funding to specific genres.
Ofcom is recommending priority should be given to “socially valuable but commercially less viable” ones, such as local news and children’s content.
Clarity on future TV distribution: As it has concluded in a separate review, the regulator has reiterated its belief that the government needs to come to a decision regarding the future of digital terrestrial TV by early 2026.
An early decision is crucial to allow time for the planning, investment and innovation needed for the transition, since delivering content over terrestrial masts as well as digital platforms will be costly.
PSM companies need to forge strategic partnerships: Scale is paramount to PSBs and other broadcasters to compete with streaming platforms, while sometimes depending on them to reach viewers.
Noting the importance of plurality and competition, Ofcom nevertheless stated that “broadcasters must be more ambitious in pursuing strategic and technological partnerships.”
Both ITV and Channel 4 have signed strategic partnerships with YouTube to distribute their content on the Google video-sharing platform.
Invest in media literacy: PSBs should invest in improving media literacy for the public, Ofcom advised, in a world that is “becoming increasingly difficult to decipher fact from fiction or spot fraudulent practices.”
That said, the regulator emphasised that it’s a role that everyone needs to play, including digital platforms and the government.
Ofcom is soon to publish recommendations under the Online Safety Act to outline how social media and video platforms can support media literacy.
Streamline regulation: Recognising that much of current regulation was created in a world of linear TV, Ofcom is soon to launch a full review of its regulation of broadcast TV and radio.
It will work with stakeholders to identify priority areas for reforming regulation and supporting the future provision of PSM. The regulator will begin its call for evidence in the autumn.
C4 CEO: Social platforms should give ‘algorithmic prominence’ to public-service media
Facing challenges
At the start of the year, outgoing Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon called for “algorithmic prominence” of PSM on social media platforms.
“We have prominence on the EPG [electronic programming guide]. We have it on some, but not enough, smart TVs. But what we need urgently is prominence for public-service media content on social platforms,” Mahon said during a Channel 4 and Royal Television Society event. “It is essential we ensure quality is boosted, not throttled or shadow-banned.”
Channel 4, ITV and the BBC have broadly welcomed the move on Monday by Ofcom.
Jonathan Allan, Channel 4’s interim CEO, said: “We particularly welcome the regulator’s recommendations on the need for urgent action to ensure PSM prominence across platforms, including on YouTube, and to provide clarity on how TV will be distributed in the future; the importance of proportionate regulation and sustainable long-term funding for PSM; and the need to promote carefully considered PSB collaboration and strategic partnerships in response to global competition.
“Bold action in these areas is essential to help support Channel 4 — as a publicly owned but commercially funded business — and the UK creative industries that depend on the sustainable, long-term investment from our PSBs.
“We look forward to engaging with Ofcom and government to build on this momentum and support the swift development of policy measures.”
In a statement, ITV said it recognises “the need for PSBs, government and Ofcom to think differently and act quickly and decisively to ensure the continued success of the sector”.
The broadcaster added: “There is much to agree with in Ofcom’s recommendations — around the need for PSB collaboration, for radical deregulation, for prominence and a fair deal on video-sharing and other online platforms, and for new sources of funding for PSM content, which has been in decline.
“Most immediately, we share Ofcom’s concern to ensure that the future of TV distribution is decided rapidly as audiences consume TV content more and more online.”
The BBC told The Media Leader: “We are encouraged that Ofcom has asked the government to make a decision by early 2026 on the transition of TV services to internet only. This will ensure there is a robust plan to support people as these changes take shape, put TV distribution on a sustainable footing and allow investment and innovation to benefit all audiences.
“The BBC will continue to focus on delivering value for all audiences and we look forward to working with other public-service media to support the success and future sustainability of the sector.”
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