Ofcom PSB Review blog

PSB in Digital Britain

By Rhona Parry

We may have published our final statement about PSB, but the debate continues. For those who haven't yet read Lord Carter's Digital Britain interim report, section 3 deals with various issues relating to digital content - including PSB. In particular, action 16 commits the final Digital Britain report to:

'...establish whether a long-term and sustainable second public service organisation providing competition for quality to the BBC can be defined and designed, drawing in part on Channel 4's assets and a re-cast remit. ...While it makes sense to begin by looking at public sector bodies - Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide - the Government is currently evaluating a range of options and organisational solutions for achieving such an outcome.'

The final Digital Britain report is expected to be published late in Spring.

The final statement ...

By Steph Peat

So, we have come to the end of the second public service broadcasting review.  We published our final statement and recommendations this morning.  We held launch events in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and London and there has already been lots of coverage in the media and a range of reactions from stakeholders.

 

If you would like to hear what our chief executive Ed Richards had to say about our recommendations then you can listen to his interview on the Today programme.

 

This may be the end of the PSB Review but it is certainly not the end of the debate.  The government is publishing its Digital Britain Report on Monday and this will look at PSB in the context of the wider digital economy. 

 

This is not the end of the road for us either. Work is continuing in a number of areas including: implementation of the short term regulatory decisions, more detailed evaluation of the BBC’s partnership proposals and further analysis of options for local media.

 

Let us know what you think.

Today's the day

By Rhona Parry

That's right - today is the closing date for submissions to Phase 2 of the PSB Review (5pm to be precise).

If you haven't already shared your thoughts, there are a couple of ways you can still do so:

• By emailing PSBReview@ofcom.org.uk
• By completing the online form

• By post / hand delivery / carrier pigeon to our address

And if you are in need of a quick reminder of why we are consulting, you might find a recent article by Ofcom's Peter Phillips interesting.

Enough ‘thinktankery’?

By Steph Peat

        In an interview with The Guardian, the Communications Minister Lord Carter of Barnes declared that there had been ‘enough thinktankery’ over public service broadcasting and that it was now time to act.  You can find the article here   

He stressed the urgency of the situation facing public service broadcasting while setting out the timetable for the Digital Britain Report. The steering group will produce an action plan in January 2009 and the report will be published in May or June.

You can see details of who is on the Digital Britain Steering Group here.

Another PSB event

By Rhona Parry

We're holding a public meeting about the PSB Review - including issues relating to the provision of ITV regional news - on Thursday 27 November. It will be in the Swallow Hilltop Hotel, London Road, Carlisle, from 5.30pm until 7.30pm.

If you're interested in attending, please just turn up and share your views. You don't need to pre-register but if you want more details, email us at PSBReview@ofcom.org.uk

PSB conference in Northern Ireland last week

By Rhona Parry

Belfast played host to an afternoon conference about public service broadcasting last Thursday, organised by Ofcom as part of the current consultation on Phase 2 of the PSB Review. Over 100 people attended, including broadcasting stalwarts, academics, politicans, independent producers, local TV groups, and those with potential interests in any competitive funding solution.

Speakers from BBC NI, Northern Ireland Screen, UTV, Channel 4, and the independent sector discussed the relative merits of each of the refined models set out in Phase 2. The Chair of Scottish Broadcasting Commission and the Chair of the Welsh Assembly's Broadcasting Committee talked about the situation in their respective Nations, while Barry McElduff MLA - Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly's Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee (pictured) - gave the local perspective.

Representatives from the Irish Language and Ulster Scots groups also discussed the future of indigenous languages in broadcasting.

The last part of the day involved some very interesting discussions in smaller groups about all the issues raised earlier in the day... including the most suitable model in Northern Ireland, funding sources, and the role of services from the Republic of Ireland in delivering plurality.

The lack of consensus about the most appropriate model is understandable (and familiar!), but the high degree of support for some element of competitive funding in any future PSB solution was striking. The existing Irish Language Broadcasting Fund was helpfully identified as a case study for competitive funding, which we'll be looking into.

Please do share your thoughts & feedback here if you were at the event too (I'm sure I haven't done it justice in 200 words!).

PSB for kids...what's the future?

By Steph Peat

You may have seen the stories in the press about the former Play School presenter (and former Ofcom Content Board member) Floella Benjamin slamming children’s TV.  Floella was speaking at the VLV children’s event where she called for a return to “wholesome, British-based children’s programmes”. At the same event James Thickett, Ofcom’s Director of Research, said that the future of children’s PSB could be secured but only with a radical new vision for delivering and funding public service content.

Floella cited Rainbow and Press Gang as examples of high quality children’s programming.  Let us know what you think about the state of kids’ TV today – and what programmes you think are shining examples or dross.

 

PSB events

By Rhona Parry

There are a couple of events coming up relating to public service broadcasting...

Firstly, a seminar onThursday 13 November in Belfast from midday to 5pm. Attendees will be able to debate the issues raised in the second phase of the PSB Review, particularly as they relate to the devolved Nations. Speakers include Blair Jenkins, Chair of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, Alun Davies AM, Chair of the Welsh Assembly's Broadcasting Committee, and Stuart Cosgrove, Channel 4's Head of Programmes for the Nations and Regions. You can register to attend by emailing PSBReview@ofcom.org.uk

The second event is about the future of local media on the morning of 12 December, hosted by the Westminster Media Forum. You can find more details and register here.

Brand & Ross... PSB?

By Rhona Parry

The chatrooms are alive today with plenty of discussions about whether the BBC 2 Russell Brand show constitutes public service broadcasting. Among the various debates and opinions, Jeremy Hunt MP today made a speech about public service broadcasting where he said about the issue:

"Just as it would be wrong in a plural and democratic society to require broadcasters to produce programmes that meet government objectives and promote social behaviour, so it is also wrong for broadcasters to produce programmes that legitimise negative social behaviour... That is why the BBC was quite wrong to take the decision to broadcast the offensive phone calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross to Andrew Sachs".

Ofcom has launched an investigation into the issue - you can find out more here. Feel free to let us know what you think here too.

Channel 4's 4iP fund is up and running

By Rhona Parry

It's interesting to see that Channel 4's digital media initiative is gathering steam. Channel 4 has formed a fund called '4 innovation for the Public' (or 4iP) which is seeking to deliver publicly valuable content and services on digital media platforms by helping to fund new projects through partnership. The website says that proposals can be aimed at any audience and work on any platform - and there are some interesting examples already listed.

 

Of course 4iP is benefiting from the expertise of Tom Loosemore, who previously co-blogged here and generally dragged Ofcom into the world of online communications. It's been a bit lonely on here without him so I'm delighted that I'm being joined by another PSB Review team member Stephanie, who is keen to get blogging...