The Chair of the BBC will give a speech tomorrow saying that the “fight is on” to future-proof the UK’s public service broadcasters and protect the British programming that they produce and broadcast.
Samir Shah is expected to say that public service broadcasting - which includes the output of ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 as well as the BBC - is a “very British success story” that has resulted in “something quite wonderful” that deserves to be protected.
Shah will also make a number of demands of the UK government and media regulator OfCom during his speech at an event at Leeds Conservatoire. He wants ministers and the regulator to help more traditional broadcasters continue to compete in a marketplace increasingly dominated by the big global streaming services like those operated by Netflix, Amazon and Disney.
“Action is needed now to future-proof public service broadcasters, otherwise our very British success story will be part of our halcyon past”, Shah will tell an audience of industry leaders and policy makers, according to The Guardian. “No other country has anything like this”, he will argue, adding, “public service broadcasters lie at the heart of our social and cultural life, and they are worth fighting for. And, to be frank, the fight is on”.
There will be three main demands of government and OfCom. First, an overhaul of the way public service broadcasters are regulated to allow “greater agility, flexibility and pace”. Second, for the likes of Netflix to invest more heavily into the British creative industries. And third, that the government and OfCom properly implement the recent Media Act.
That legislation already paves the way for changing the way public service broadcasters are regulated. In OfCom’s words, that will involve “amending and simplifying the requirements of public service broadcasters so they can focus on creating high-quality programming that serves audiences”.
The act also introduces new rules to make sure public service content is “available, prominent and easily accessible” on connected TV platforms and via voice assistants, which is presumably something Shah is also keen to ensure is enforced.
Concluding, his speech will declare, “British public service broadcasters have, over the years, created something quite wonderful. We should work together as a sector to future-proof this precious asset and put it at the heart of the growth strategy that is key to the future prosperity of this country”.
To that end, he will say, “I will work with my fellow public service broadcasters to press our legislators and regulators to take action on these fronts. To invert the cliche, let us act fast, so that we don’t repent at leisure”.