British public service broadcasters like the BBC and ITV are viewed positively by television and film fans in the United Kingdom for the perceived quality and wide availability of programming — but those broadcasters are still facing challenges from streaming services and other forms of entertainment and information, the country’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) said this week.
Some broadcasters are addressing these challenges by restructuring their content spending and prioritizing digital distribution on their own streaming platforms, the joint venture Freely and on third party services like YouTube and TikTok, but they still have a long way to go, the regulator concluded.
Britain has four main public service broadcasters — the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Paramount-owned Channel 5 — which hold licenses to transmit over the air, on cable, satellite and via streaming. Most of those broadcasters operate multiplex networks that offer additional programming, including BBC Four, ITV 2, E4 and 5 USA; the BBC also operates UKTV through its commercial business unit, BBC Worldwide.
Across the United Kingdom, television fans rate the output of programming on public service broadcast channels highly, and say they find a wide variety of shows and movies that appeal to different audiences. The public also say national news broadcasts aired on the channels tends to deliver independent and trustworthy information.
Where public service broadcasters are falling short is in the production of local TV shows and films, which has been effectuated by lower budgets across the board. Some genres have suffered more than others, including art, classical music, fact-based shows and children’s programming, Ofcom said.
This is likely to accelerate in the coming years as public service broadcasters continue to face serious financial issues. The BBC, in particular, has been charged with the difficult task of cost-cutting across various units in order to address a potential loss of revenue from the mandatory TV tax, or license, that British households must pay for the privilege of watching its live channels over the air or on the Internet. Two years ago, government officials said they hoped the broadcast license would be abolished by 2027; before then, the license fee will increase with the rate of inflation.
ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 primarily generate revenue through the sale of advertisements, and have been afflicted by ongoing pressure in the traditional TV ad market as companies pull back their spending on broadcast and cable TV in favor of connected TV platforms like streaming services.
Netflix, Amazon, Paramount and the Walt Disney Company have all launched ad-supported versions of their streaming services in the United Kingdom, or plan to do so in the near future; their entry into the ad-supported streaming space creates additional pressure on public service broadcasters, who are only now starting to prioritize digital distribution of their content with the hopes of meeting audiences on connected TV platforms and capturing a larger share of streaming TV ad revenue.
When it comes to news content, while public service broadcasters are rated by viewers highly on issues like quality of segments, independence and trustworthiness, those channels are facing increased competition from upstart news and opinion networks like GB News and Talk TV, along with national news channels like Comcast-owned Sky News. Online sources of news are also increasing competition for public service broadcasters.
In mid-2025, Ofcom intends to publish a follow-up report that offers a more-detailed examination of the issues facing public service broadcasters, along with remedies to maintain and strengthen the provision of those channels over the next decade.
