Content made by British public broadcasters would benefit from laws that make it easier to find them on platforms like YouTube—and that’s one of several strategies that UK regulator Ofcom has laid out in a new report published today.

Ofcom is sounding the alarm that British-made programming from services like the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C is fighting for attention in today’s media landscape, defined by the decline of linear TV and the rise of global streamers. 

While pubcasters have been adapting by bringing their titles onto third-party platforms like YouTube, this content is only a “small proportion” of what UK audiences are watching online, according to Ofcom research. This is not just linked to the heightened competition from online content creators, but also the fact that these platforms determine what content is promoted.

Ofcom underlined children as a particularly crucial audience to address in this crisis, noting how kids ages four to 15 spend significantly more time watching YouTube than all public broadcasters combined. “If children do not turn to [public broadcaster] content as they get older, the future of [public service media] is at risk,” the report states.

The solution? Ofcom has offered a six-point action plan to drive more discoverability—starting with urging public broadcasters to work closely with YouTube to ensure their content is easier to find, and to shape their content for more appeal in these online spaces. 

The regulator made a strong case for legislation to enable change. In addition, it recommended earmarking public funding specifically for “socially valuable but commercially less viable genres” like children’s content. 

In a recommendation for the UK government, Ofcom is pushing to streamline regulation and “strip away any outdated and unnecessary restrictions”. To support this, Ofcom will launch a “fundamental review” of the regulation of broadcast TV and radio, starting with a call for evidence later this fall. 

Other recommendations in the action plan include more clarity on the future of TV distribution; more media literacy initiatives; and more strategic partnerships between pubcasters and domestic broadcasters to compete with streamers.

Channel 5 president Sarah Rose welcomed the recommendations, including the push for more commercially viable funding models to keep children’s content afloat—something she finds necessary after the closure of the Young Audiences Content Fund. “Revisiting contestable funding models like the YACF will be critical to ensure public service media can continue to support children’s content in the future,” she noted in a statement. “Channel 5’s Milkshake! continues to navigate [these] challenges as the only public service broadcaster offering a daily programming block that targets preschoolers with original content rooted in the UK’s Early Years Foundation framework.”

Updated, July 22: Over the past day, the industry has been sharing more reactions to the Ofcom review.

The Children’s Media Foundation shared an optimistic statement, with chair Anna Home noting that the action plan was better late than never, given how long orgs have been voicing concerns about kids’ changing viewing patterns. “The speed of change has significantly damaged the industry and is continuing to offer children and young people much less that is of value and too much that is of harm,” Home said. “YouTube and other platforms that have captured the hearts and minds of the young now need to acknowledge this and act, and if they don’t, then the government must take action.”

Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC), a trade body representing production companies in Wales, agreed with Ofcom’s push for more funding and tax reliefs—but raised some concerns around who will get to decide which regulations are unnecessary when conducting the fundamental review.

“We are disappointed that Ofcom [has not committed] to a review of its Made out of London criteria, to ensure they are still working in the spirit of what is intended by legislation which was only recently renewed in the Media Act,” TAC chair Llyr Morus said in a statement, adding that the org has been raising concerns around “brass-plating”—a practice in which non-Welsh companies receiving commissions only set up a temporary base in Wales, which reduces long-term benefits for the Welsh screen sector.

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