The proposed list of television selection services to be designated for the purpose of providing prominent access to the online players of public service broadcasters in the United Kingdom has been published. Bizarrely, it does not include Freely, the platform developed by the public service broadcasters specifically to provide prominence to their own services.

Under legislation introduced in 2024, a new regulatory regime will require connected television platforms designated by the Secretary of State to ensure that BBC iPlayer, and any other designated public service broadcaster players and their programming are available, prominent, and easily accessible.

The communications regulator, Ofcom, has published its proposed list of regulated television selection services, in the form of a consultation on a draft report.

The metric used by Ofcom to determine inclusion in the list of regulated television selection services with a significant number of users is that the service must have at least 700,000 active users in the last year.

Taking that into account, Ofcom has determined 14 television selection services that should be designated: Amazon Fire TV OS 6, 7 and 8; Android TV 10, 11, 12 and 14; Apple TV OS 18 and 26; Google TV 10, 11, 12 and 14; LG WebOS 25; Roku OS 14; Samsung Smart Hub (Tizen) 8 and 9; Sky Entertainment OS; 6 Sky Q; VIDAA OS U6, 7, 8 and 9; Virgin Media Horizon7; Virgin Media TiVo on V6; YouView on EE TV on Sagemcom; and YouView on Sony televisions.

Notably absent from this is list is Freely from Everyone TV, which is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5.

Under the Media Act 2024, for regulation to apply, a television selection service must be provided via the internet, be provided 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 those internet programme services.

It is difficult to see how Freely does not meet this definition. Freely provides an electronic programme guide that is delivered over the internet and is installed on televisions from a range of manufacturers, it enables the presentation of internet programme services and enables a user to select between them.

Ofcom says: “We are aware that there are several new services which function in ways that are not entirely equivalent to an operating system, but may have significant control over an ITE. For example, Freely is an HBB (‘hybrid broadcast broadband’) TV operator app that provides a complete TV environment that can sit alongside a smart TV’s user interface (‘UI’) or replace it entirely.”

The regulator adds: “Freely is a service, or a dissociable section of a service provided by means of the internet. It is provided in connection with ITE since it is integrated as an operator app on a number of different smart TVs. It consists of the presentation of IPS included in the service as users are able to access PSB IPS through Freely. Finally, it enables users to select between and access IPS or programmes provided by those IPS, or both.”

Ofcom says: “We have reviewed each relevant case and considered whether it meets the definition of a TSS. We consider there are currently two such services that are TSS: Freely and YouView in its new form available on smart TVs such as Sony TV and Apple TV.” It continues: “We also recognise that it is possible to have more than one TSS operating on a single ITE. For example, some smart TVs offer users the manufacturer’s operating system and related UI, and also a service such as Freely. For the purposes of this report, we have considered such services to be separate TSS.”

Given this, it remains unclear why Ofcom does not consider that it should recommend Freely for designation as a television selection service. If it is not that, what is it?

As it stands, a television platform specifically designed to provide access to apps from its shareholder public service broadcasters will not be covered by legislation that was proposed to ensure that these very apps should be easily accessible on connected televisions.

Perhaps Freely does not meet the threshold for designation of 700,000 active users, but one would have thought that its partners would have aspirations to achieve at least that, if it is not to be an irrelevance in the market.

The Designation of Television Selection Services by Ofcom is open for consultation until 16 September. Interested parties have until then to respond, before the report goes to the Secretary of State for designation.

www.ofcom.org.uk
www.freely.co.uk

As public service media shifts from universally available television channels to online video platforms, it is challenging to monitor what is available for audiences to watch, and what is being recommended to viewers. A report finds that some genres are not readily available, prominent or discoverable on the online platforms of public service media organisations in the United Kingdom.

Previously, television schedules showed the range of programmes that were available on each channel. These schedules could be analysed to hold broadcasters to account. As broadcasters move to online platforms, each member of the audience increasingly has a personal set of recommended and promoted programming, which may be determined by an opaque combination of editorial decisions and algorithmic determinations.

There is a regulatory requirement that programmes contributing towards public service remits must be easily discoverable and promoted, although how this will be monitored is unclear.

There is a risk that as some genres recede from view, the resulting decline in viewing numbers may result in fewer commissions.
A report by the University of Leeds and the International Broadcasting Trust examines the availability, prominence, and discoverability of programmes across the BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and the apps of Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Professor Catherine Johnson of Leeds University, who also chairs the audiences forum on the future of television distribution for the Departure of Culture, Media and Sport, is co-author of the report.

The report finds that programmes about the arts, international issues, religion and belief were not readily available, prominent or discoverable, particularly on the platforms operated by commercial public service broadcasters.

Although it was also easier to find these programmes on the BBC iPlayer through search, function, its recommendation algorithms meant that, unless audiences actively sought out and watched programmes from these genres, the chance of discovering them was much lower.

The report makes several recommendations, including that public service media organisations should be required to publish an annual statement setting out the principles and values underpinning their use of algorithms and recommendation systems within their online video platforms.

There is also the suggestion that public service media organisations should facilitate the monitoring of their platforms by opening access to application programming interfaces and non-commercially sensitive platform and audience data.

The report recommends that the government and regulator need to incentivise public service media organisations to broaden the range of genres and subject matter promoted and recommended to audiences, recognising the value of serendipity and the dangers of creating audience silos.

Behind the Screen: How streaming is changing public service media is published by the International Broadcasting Trust and is available from its web site.

Ibt.org.uk

Public service media is endangered, and broadcasters must work together and with global technology firms to survive. The solution, according to Ofcom, the regulator in the United Kingdom, is that public service media should be easy to find and discover on third-party platforms, like YouTube.

The system of public service media is now under serious threat, Ofcom says, with audience choice wider than it’s ever been, broadcasters experiencing fundamental financial challenges and structural change in the advertising market. In this environment, public service broadcasters are finding it much harder to fund the production and distribution of high-quality media from the United Kingdom to all audiences.

Ofcom says that the video-on-demand players of public service media organisations account for only 9% of all viewing, significantly less than online video subscription services at 15% and online video sharing platforms at 19%.

Among its recommendations is that public service broadcasters should work urgently with YouTube to ensure that their programming is prominent and easy to find. It says there is a strong case for the government to legislate to enable the change.

If no action is taken, Ofcom warns, the very existence of public service broadcasters, who are the main providers of public service media, will be threatened. Time is running out, it says, to save this pillar of United Kingdom culture and way of life.

In a report titled Transmission Critical: The future of public service media, the regulator recommends a six-point action plan, focussed on:

• prominence and discoverability for public service media on YouTube
• stable and adequate funding to sustain public service media
• urgent clarity on the future of television distribution
• ambitious partnerships amongst the public service media organisations
• investment in media literacy to support audiences
• streamlined regulation that strips away unnecessary restrictions.

“Public service media is stitched into the cultural fabric of UK society. It starts conversations, educates and informs, and brings us together in moments of national importance,” said Cristina Nicolotti Squires, the director of the broadcasting and media group at Ofcom, who was formerly director of content at Sky News and editor at ITN for 5 News.

“In a world dominated by global streaming platforms, public service media risks becoming an endangered species, and time is running out to intervene to protect it,” she said. “Our six-point plan would involve collective action from broadcasters, online platforms, the Government and Ofcom. It maps out a clear route that would help sustain public service media for the future.”

Transmission Critical: The future of public service media is published by Ofcom and is available from its web site.

www.ofcom.org.uk