The House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee has written to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport setting out its recommendations ahead of the Government’s forthcoming BBC Charter Review White Paper.
One of the striking features of the letter is the Committee’s insistence that the Government must take the opportunity in the next Charter to focus not only on the future of the BBC, but that of public service media (PSM) more broadly.
Pointing to the “entirely different” landscape from that in which the BBC’s current Charter was set, particularly the rise in streaming and video-sharing platforms, the Committee explains that “the BBC’s next Charter cannot be designed in isolation from wider decisions regarding distribution, PSM prominence and platform regulation. The Government should use the BBC Charter Review White Paper and the media White Paper to set out an ambitious and coherent strategy for PSM over the next decade”.
Among the various recommendations from the Committee, a number stand out:
- The Government should set clear minimum expectations for agreements between PSM providers and major video-sharing platforms on prominence, data access, accountability and fair value, and stand ready to legislate if voluntary arrangements do not deliver adequate results;
- While supporting the strengthening of partnerships between the BBC and other PSM providers (including proposals for an extended iPlayer), the Committee states that “collaboration is not a panacea and must not weaken agreed standards and values, media plurality or domestic competition. Any expanded service should be based on genuine, mutually beneficial partnerships that respect the different brands and funding models of participating organisations”;
- The Government should support the development of initiatives between the BBC and other PSM providers to support the training and development of the UK’s creative sector workforce;
- The Government should “set out a bold, confident and unapologetic approach to the BBC’s long-term financial sustainability”. While the Committee does not assess the merits of different funding models, it states that “any new or expanded responsibilities should be matched by adequate funding or supported by a clear acknowledgement of the trade-offs required elsewhere”.
The letter from the Committee to the Secretary of State can be read in full here.