Media regulator calls on lawmakers to protect British public service TV in age of YouTube

LONDON – Britain’s media regulator has called for fresh legislation to protect the nation’s established public broadcasters such as the BBC from online video-streaming services owned mainly by foreign companies.

“Public service media has a long and proud tradition in the UK. It delivers duly impartial and trusted news and original programmes which reflect British culture and bring the country together,” stated a July 21 report issued by Britain’s media regulator, the Office of Communications, or Ofcom.

But, according to Ofcom, the country’s public broadcasters risk becoming an “endangered species” in an age of video-streaming websites such as YouTube.

The answer, the regulator claims, is to compel global streaming companies to give higher prominence to content produced by British public broadcasters, so that such material can be more easily accessible to British audiences.

Ofcom’s proposal for a set of new measures, including fresh legislation, has taken many media specialists in London by surprise, and it is far from certain that the measures will find favour with the British government.

Still, the proposals are broadly in keeping with efforts undertaken by many countries, including Singapore, to ensure that their national public media providers can survive in a global information landscape increasingly dominated by a handful of often US-owned video-streaming companies.

YouTube is a subsidiary of Alphabet, which is also the parent company of Google.

Public service broadcasters in Britain comprise the tax-funded BBC – the oldest global broadcaster, affectionately referred to by the British as “Auntie” – and five other advertising-funded networks that hold broadcasting licences.

In 2024, BBC’s revenues totalled £5.9 billion (S$10.2 billion), primarily derived from the £174.50 compulsory licence fee it collects from all British households, as well as the royalties earned from selling its content to other global broadcasters.

ITV, the biggest of the ad-supported British public networks, netted revenues of £4.1 billion in 2024.

These are large sums, but the obligations on British public broadcasters are equally significant.

Their output must be accessible nationwide without additional payment. They are also required to commission a large quantity of British-related drama and documentary material; encourage the growth of local talent; promote national media industries; offer special programmes for children, the elderly and various ethnic minorities; and provide a continuous and comprehensive news service.

This last task is both hugely expensive and unattractive to advertisers and commercial sponsors. Yet, no such obligations apply to major global streaming companies such as Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon’s Prime Video, which can concentrate their resources on producing only content that is profitable or stands to increase their fee-paying audiences.

In its latest report, Ofcom acknowledged that global streaming companies can also “contribute substantially to British culture and public debate”.

The regulator singled out Netflix’s Adolescence, a 2025 hit drama series about crime in a small British town, which prompted a national debate about juvenile delinquency and the relationships between teenage boys and girls.

Nonetheless, the Ofcom report pointed out that such media gems are rare. Most of the global streaming companies’ material has little reference to Britain, is not explicitly produced for British audiences and remains behind paywalls.

All British public broadcasters have launched streaming services, either through their own specifically designed platforms, such as BBC’s iPlayer, or in association with other streaming providers.

However, these are increasingly marginalised by the sheer power of foreign-owned streaming platforms, which not only take away audiences, but also eat into the advertising markets that have sustained many public broadcasters.

Ofcom has long followed these developments with growing concern. Initially, the regulator’s attention focused on ensuring that new streaming devices entering the market do not exclude the streaming platforms of British public broadcasters.

A new Media Act came into effect in 2024, designed to ensure that the apps of public broadcasters are automatically included in all smart TV devices sold in Britain; these are TV sets with integrated web connections.

However, this legislation does not extend to video-sharing platforms, a sector dominated by YouTube. And this omission is now considered critical by Ofcom.

According to research conducted by the regulator, 43 per cent of children aged four to 17 watch YouTube weekly, far more than those turning to any British public broadcaster.

And less than a fifth of the material available on YouTube is made in Britain, Ofcom claimed.

The watchdog suggested British broadcasters should “work urgently with YouTube” to make sure their content is “prominent and easy to find” on the video sharer’s website. It also wants YouTube to offer more news and children’s programming from British public broadcasters.

The regulator added that there is “a strong case” for the government to consider a law to make that happen.

“If children do not turn to public service media content as they get older, the future of (this media) is at risk,” Ofcom’s report concluded.

British media bosses welcomed the initiative. But the reaction of the British government was more muted.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport said on July 22: “We welcome Ofcom’s Public Service Media Review and we will now consider its recommendations.”

One reason for this cautious response is that after the introduction of the 2024 Media Act, there has been little official appetite for further legislation.

However, a more powerful consideration is the potential reaction of US President Donald Trump to any measure that imposes further obligations on American companies providing digital services.

Mr Trump is already angered by the plans of many European governments to tax the profits of US-owned digital platforms.

And with “The Donald” scheduled to arrive in Britain at the end of this week for a round of golf, the last thing anyone wants is a further row over the treatment of YouTube.