Ofcom has confirmed the principles and methods that it will use to ensure the availability, prominence, and accessibility of public service programming on connected television platforms in the United Kingdom. Under the Media Act 2024, the communications regulator is required to make recommendations on the designation of ‘television selection services’ on these platforms.
In the legislation, television selection services that may be subject to regulation are defined as those which are provided via the internet, in connection with internet television equipment, consist of the presentation of internet programme services, and enable a user to select between and access internet programme services or programmes provided by them, or both.
The designation of such services is a matter for the Secretary of State, based on recommendations provided by Ofcom.
Following a consultation paper published in December 2024, Ofcom says that stakeholder responses were largely supportive of its draft statement. It has decided not to make any changes, so it is publishing its final Statement of Principles and Methods. The regulator will provide its first report to the Secretary of State, on which it intends to consult in the summer.
While the published consultation responses are largely supportive, one anonymised submission points out that if only regulated television selection services are covered by the must offer and must carry obligations, the television receiver market is essentially closed to new entrants. Without access to the online services of public service broadcasters, new products will not achieve sufficient scale to be considered significant and therefore come under the regulation.
The respondent observes that the way around this problem is to ensure that online services are offered based on technical standards agreed by the industry to any television selection services that complies with those standards under the same terms that are available to a regulated television selection service. This would enable new entrants to enter the television device market in the United Kingdom, without increasing costs to public service broadcasters.
The digital terrestrial television market has operated very successfully in this way, facilitated by organisations such as the Digital Television Group. The submission says that taking this principle into the online world would promote competition among television selection services and devices, and maximise the availability of public service media, with appropriate prominence, across new and innovative devices and platforms.
Ofcom responded that while technical standards will be relevant to its decision, it is very unlikely that it would recommend designation based on a description that referred solely to meeting certain technical standards. It added that while the must offer obligation only applies to regulated television services, providers of all television selection services remain free to negotiate with public service broadcasters for carriage of their online services on a commercial basis.