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06|11|03

Ofcom Commences Full Review Of UK Public Service Broadcasting

New communications regulator surveys 6,000 households on views on British television

Ofcom today (6 November) formally confirmed the commencement of its far-reaching review of public service broadcasting.

The 12-month review will involve detailed analysis of all the UK public service broadcasters: BBC, ITV1, Channel 4, Five, S4C and all related television services taken together. It will build on the major broadcasting reviews of the past.

Ofcom’s review will be evidence-based and research-driven, rooted in responses from viewers themselves.

As part of a comprehensive programme of research and analysis throughout the 12- month period, Ofcom will begin its review with a detailed survey of the viewing preferences and attitudes of 6,000 households across the UK.

Ofcom has also today asked the broadcasters to supply detailed data on their delivery of their public service obligations over the last five years.

The outcome will feed into Government’s review of the BBC’s Charter.

Ed Richards, Ofcom’s senior partner leading the project, said: “This will be an important review which will objectively inform the future shape of British television.

“We want to place viewers and programmes at the heart of the review. We will consult widely, both formally and informally, and organise a series of PSB seminars throughout the UK.

“We know through existing research that people have strong opinions about what they think good television is. Our review aims to establish a clear view of what public service television is, and how it is best delivered, both today and in the future.”

The project will consist of three phases with consultation built in throughout. Ofcom’s approach will include:

• New research including a comprehensive survey of the views and attitudes of 6,000 households. The research will also include a further study examining attitudes and needs of specific social and ethnic groups in relation to the delivery of wider purposes such as education, culture and citizenship.
• Evidence from public service broadcasters. As part of Ofcom’s evidence-based research it will be asking broadcasters to provide data covering the last five years (1998-2002) on the costs, revenues and volume of different programmes, the expenditure associated with each channel and how well it contributes towards delivering public service broadcasting’s core purposes – as set out in the Communications Act 2003. The information will help to “tell a story” about how well public service broadcasting is being delivered.
• Public Service Broadcasting seminars taking Ofcom’s consultation process into viewers’ communities across the UK. Seminars will be held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and in locations in England. Ofcom will announce details of venues in due course.

Notes to Editors

1. Viewers can already contribute to Ofcom’s PSB Review via the transitional website: www.ofcom.org.uk. The detailed requests for information sent to broadcasters can also be obtained on the website.
2. Ofcom has a duty under the Communications Act 2003 to undertake a review of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) which will seek a working definition of the purposes and components of PSB.
3. Ofcom will be the UK’s new communications industry regulator with wide-ranging responsibilities across the UK’s communications markets when it assumes its powers at the end of 2003. Ofcom will inherit the duties of the five existing regulators it will replace – the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Independent Television Commission, Oftel, the Radio Authority and the Radiocommunications Agency. An independent regulatory body, Ofcom will also fulfil the additional duties enacted in the provisions laid down in the Communications Act 2003.

Ofcom Media Office: 020 7981 3653

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