Ofcom’s Public Service Publisher To Launch In 2008
The new public service broadcaster being championed by Ofcom as a rival to the BBC in the digital age could launch in 2008, according to draft proposals published by the media super-regulator.
It is understood that Ofcom has revealed its initial thoughts on the so-called Public Service Publisher, in a detailed tender document inviting companies to make ‘shadow’ pitches for taking on the running the proposed organisation.
A report in the Guardian suggests that hypothetical pitches will be presented next month at a seminar that will contribute to Ofcom’s final plans for the PSP, which would be funded by a combination of tax revenues, an enhanced licence fee and a tax on the turnover of UK broadcasters.
A number of media consultancies including Mediatique, Human Capital and Spectrum Strategy have been approached to lead four teams that will pitch to a panel of industry experts. Mainstream television broadcasters are also expected to attend, but will be reticent to reveal possible plans for the PSP.
The four pitches will simulate alternative visions for the PSP, which is not intended to be a conventional broadcaster. Ofcom has already made it clear that its content could appear on the internet and mobile phone networks, as well as on television sets.
Sources suggest that under the tender document, the first licence to operate the PSP would begin in 2008, just two years before the process of switching off the analogue television signal begins in the UK. It will run out in 2016 when the BBC’s Royal Charter next comes up for renewal.
Ofcom envisages the new PSP will use a variety of new technologies and distribution systems to meet audience needs in the increasingly competitive digital age. Existing commercial broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Five would be able to bid for the right to set up and run the new channel, but the BBC would be excluded in an attempt to prevent the Corporation from dominating the market for public service broadcasting (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
The Public Service Publisher was one of the most radical ideas to come out of a wide-ranging set of proposals designed to protect the future of public service broadcasting as Britain prepares to switch off the ageing analogue television signal (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk
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