Context
Public service broadcasting generally refers to the provision of television programmes for the public benefit. In order to meet their public service obligations, public service broadcasters ("PSBs") must provide a range of high-quality and diverse TV programming which meets the needs of audiences across the UK. The current PSBs are the BBC, S4C and the Channel 3, 4 and 5 licence holders.
	Public service content is intended to be socially valuable. Important national and international events are covered by PSBs and they are a trusted source of accurate and impartial news and current affairs. Public service content is also intended to be universal – available to the overwhelming majority of the population without charge.
	Since the concept of PSB first emerged over 80 years ago, the legislative framework has had to evolve in line with changing technology. Most recently, the proliferation of smart TVs, coupled with high-speed fixed and mobile internet connections, has allowed viewers to access TV programmes flexibly from an ever greater range of providers. As a result, audiences are increasingly moving away from watching linear television on a traditional TV set.
	At the same time, while public service content is still highly valued by viewers, changes in viewing habits and constantly developing technology means that PSBs are experiencing new challenges. For example, in the last decade, internet-based media services, and in particular subscription-based VoD services, have become increasingly popular with viewers and now compete with PSBs for content, revenue and audiences. The Government is of the view that the legal framework for PSB needs to change to assist the PSBs in meeting these challenges.
	In November 2020 the Government announced a strategic review of public service broadcasting, and appointed a PSB Advisory Panel to assist in the review. This followed a report by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee (Public Service Broadcasting: As Vital As Ever (November 2019)), which was itself followed by reports from the DCMS Select Committee (March 2021), and OFCOM (July 2021) about the future of PSB. OFCOM’s report – titled Small Screen Big Debate: Recommendations to Government on the Future of Public Service Media – is the latest of their quinquennial reports. The consensus across these reports was that the PSB system needed a refresh to reflect:
Changing technology: Just as the advent of cable and satellite services revolutionised broadcasting in the 1980s and 1990s, so the increasing adoption of internet-delivered services is revolutionising broadcasting now, creating new delivery methods with their own gatekeepers and business models;
Changing consumer habits: Today’s viewers now have a huge amount of choice in terms of what they watch and how they watch it – and they are taking advantage of it. In particular, they have continued to move away from linear ("live") viewing to on-demand viewing. But they are also shifting to different platforms, types of content and methods of viewing; and
Increased competition: Changes in technology and consumer habits have set the stage for new global players to emerge (particularly, but not exclusively, subscription-based VoD services).
	The Government is also strongly committed to securing that the public value of radio is maintained and in February 2020 commissioned the Digital Radio and Audio Review, which was undertaken in conjunction with a broad cross-section of industry stakeholders with the objective of assessing likely future trends in listening and to make recommendations on ways of strengthening UK radio and audio.
	The report of the Review was published in October 2021. It found that a growing proportion of radio listening is now online, particularly via voice-activated connected audio devices, and that there was likely to be a shift in bargaining power in favour of voice assistant platforms vis-à-vis radio broadcasters over the coming years. It therefore included recommendations as to potential legislative intervention to secure radio’s position in this environment into the future.