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25|09|08

What is PSB?

The UK has a rich heritage of public service broadcasting stretching back over 70 years.

From Panorama to World in Action, through Cutting Edge, Hidden Lives, Blue Peter and The South Bank Show, some of the finest programmes ever made have come out of the PSB strand.

But what exactly is it?

Public benefit

In a nutshell, PSB programmes are those broadcast for the benefit of the public and not just for purely commercial purposes.

They include local news coverage, arts shows, current affairs, education, original drama, science and children’s programmes, as well as religious broadcasts.

PSB programmes should inform, educate and entertain all sections of society and reflect life in the UK and our cultural identity.

Multichannel TV

There are five main public service broadcasters – the BBC, ITV1, Channel 4, Five and S4C (plus Teletext).

Under Ofcom’s regulations, the commercial PSB broadcasters have to include a specific amount of PSB programming as part of their licence.

The rise of multichannel digital TV means there is also now a wide range of public service broadcasting on 'non-PSB' channels such as More4, Sky Arts and UKTV History.

Read Ofcom’s news release on today’s PSB consultation.

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