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22|03|07

Public Service Broadcasting Annual Report

Ofcom today published its Public Service Broadcasting Annual Report detailing the appeal and effectiveness of public service broadcasting (PSB) in the UK.

The Report provides independent evidence as context for broadcasters’ statements of programme policy and self-assessment reviews, also published today.

Section 264 of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to assess the designated public service broadcasters, taken together, in terms of their delivery of the public service purposes set out in the Act. The designated PSB broadcasters are the BBC, ITV1, GMTV, Channel 4, Five, S4C and Teletext.

In its 2004 review of the PSB market, Ofcom established a new definition of public service broadcasting based on a number of core purposes and characteristics, aligned to the PSB purposes of the Communications Act.

The Annual Report provides evidence of what broadcasters have shown onscreen since 2002; how viewing has changed over this period; and opinions of current programming. It also reports on the first year’s results of Ofcom’s PSB Tracker, which asks around 7,500 viewers the extent to which they believe broadcasters have achieved PSB purposes and characteristics.

Key points include:

• Public service broadcasting taken as a whole remains important to viewers in the UK.
• Opinions about PSB delivery, in general, tend to reflect the particular strengths of each of the main channels:
  • BBC One’s strengths are in delivering news and big national events;
  • BBC Two programmes perform well in stimulating knowledge and learning;
  • ITV1 is appreciated for its quality drama, soaps and regional programming;
  • Channel 4 scores well for engaging and challenging programmes; and is most popular among younger audiences; and
  • Viewers enjoy Five's individual programmes. It also scores well with its audience in providing engaging and high quality programmes.

The Report also shows that:

• Only around a third of viewers say that channels show enough new programmes made in the UK and innovative programmes with new ideas and approaches.
• Opinions about the delivery of programmes with educative benefits are mixed. Viewers believe that programmes that stimulate learning, for example, are not well delivered.
• Despite the stated importance of children’s television to parents, viewing of Children’s programming on the main terrestrial PSB channels is diminishing swiftly: viewing of ITV1 and BBC One dropped by half between 2002 and 2006.
• Programmes reflecting regions to the rest of the UK are perceived to be delivered less well, though this is stated to be less of a priority to people.

The Public Service Broadcasting Annual Report can be found at www.ofcom.org.uk along with links to each broadcaster’s statements of programme policy and self-assessment review.

Ends.

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