The Price of Plurality - Stakeholders - Ofcom

28Robin Fosterbe concentrated in the hands of just a few platform owners. Howmight these developments affect plurality of provision at each stageof the value chain?Content creationOver the past twenty years or so, we have moved from anenvironment in which most TV production was carried out by the twomain integrated broadcasters, BBC and ITV, to one in which there arenow around 800 independent producers, accounting for around 45%of annual programme spend in the UK. 3The catalysts for this change were the independent productionquota and the launch of Channel 4, but the independent sectornow has its own momentum, with many commercial and creativesuccess stories. The BBC’s WOCC (Window of Creative Competition)guarantees that, in addition to the statutory 25% quota, a further 25of BBC commissions is open to competition between external andin-house producers. Independent producers could therefore accountfor as much as 50% of BBC commissions if they have the best ideas.This change has resulted in a huge plurality of provision in contentcreation, with intense competition between suppliers for commissionsfrom the main broadcasters, and much innovation of content andformats. The existence of a large number of independent suppliershelps to guarantee a diversity of views, perspectives and approaches,from producers with a range of corporate cultures and regionalbackgrounds.In future, plurality in content creation will be further stimulatedby the blurring of boundaries between different types of mediaand globalisation of media markets. Audiovisual content is beingdeveloped by an increasingly wide range of producers – from thepublishing, games and music sectors – leading to a further potentialexplosion in content available. New digital media is allowingindividuals to create their own content, for example in posting theirown videos or blogs. Community media organisations are contributingto the range and diversity of content creation in the UK and aroundthe world. Arts and cultural organisations such as the ScienceMuseum and the Tate are creating their own online content. CharlesLeadbetter, in his recent essay for Ofcom, argues that the means ofmedia production are becoming increasingly widely distributed. Newmedia communities such as Wikipedia and Second Life allow a slidingscale of attention: people can either contribute a lot or a little. Thisnew form of “social production”, he argues, offers benefi ts in terms offreedom, democracy and equality. 4Alongside this generally bright picture, some risks are worth noting.The business dynamics of the independent TV production sector seemlikely to prompt further moves towards consolidation, with increasingmarket shares for a smaller number of larger fi rms, perhaps leadingto a less diverse and less innovative sector. However, entry barriersto the sector remain low, which means there should be a continuingsupply of new smaller fi rms competing for commissions with the bigger