New report looks at how public service broadcasting has delivered for UK audiences over a five-year period
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 27, 2020 Updated: February 28, 2020
New report looks at how public service broadcasting has delivered for UK audiences over a five-year period
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Ofcom has released a new report looking at how public service broadcasting (PSB) has delivered for UK audiences over a five-year period (2014 - 2018).
The Communications Act 2003 sets out the purposes of PSB and the television services responsible for their delivery. These services are: the BBC television services, ITV and STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C.
The review, titled Small Screen: Big Debate, also looks at the contribution other broadcasters and on-demand services have made to the PSB objectives.
Among its key findings are:
Audiences continue to highly value the purposes of PSB, including trustworthy news and programmes that show different aspects of UK life and culture.
And although audiences still have generally positive views of the PSB channels, viewing, especially among younger people, continues to decline. Online and on-demand services like the BBC iPlayer and All4 have not to date fully made up for the loss of live broadcast viewing.
The PSB channels have generally fulfilled the PSB remit. Investment by the PSB channels has also played an important role in supporting the UK's creative economy, including an increasingly vibrant production sector across the nations and regions.
However, maintaining the current level and range of programmes is a challenge for the PSB channels. At the same time, other providers such as Sky and Netflix are offering both a large volume and wide range of high-quality content to UK audiences.
The extended choice in content and growing investment in original UK programming is generally positive both for audiences and for the sector as a whole. However, there are some significant differences in the mix of genres offered by different providers as well as the availability of this content to all audiences in the UK.
According to Ofcom, Small Screen: Big Debate takes a different approach from its previous PSB reviews. Its purpose is to provoke a broad and dynamic national conversation involving viewers, the broadcasting industry, Parliament, and regulators about how the benefits of PSB might best be assured for the future.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
17/01/2026
BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...
17/01/2026
Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...
17/01/2026
Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...
New report looks at how public service broadcasting has delivered for UK audiences over a five-year period
