Written Evidence Submission - House of Lords Communications Committee: Public Service Broadcasting in the Age of Video on Demand

Abstract

I consider this Inquiry important and relevant as the successful UK Public Service Broadcasters BBC, ITV, C4, C5 and S4C are currently facing major challenges from Video on Demand (VoD) services. These challenges primarily concern competition for content from VoD services in a highly competitive broadcasting market characterised by shifts in audience behaviour. Audiences are watching less scheduled TV as they are attracted by the business model of global streaming services like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Fierce competition from mainly US-based, unregulated global VoD players investing billions of pounds in content has escalated programming costs and made it difficult for tightly regulated PSBs with modest domestic UK budgets to compete. The BBC is facing unprecedented pressure regarding its licence fee income and commercial UK PSBs face pressure concerning their funding market models as advertising money is continuously diverted online to new streaming services.