A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION
produced some of the most celebrated
output of British television like World in
Action’s programmes on thalidomide in the
1970s.
We believe that the lives and concerns of all
citizens, but especially young people and
ethnic and other minorities, are too often
underserved by the journalism of existing
public service providers. Young people, for
example, often don’t see their world and
their concerns covered in a comprehensive
and relevant manner. This alienates them
and pushes them towards more energetic
newcomers such as Vice Media who operate
outside of the formal public service compact.
The dominant culture of journalism fails to
reach these and other minorities and too
often seeks to manufacture an unsatisfactory
consensus by over-representing the centre
ground. At a time of growing disillusionment
with traditional parliamentary politics
and, especially in the light of increased
devolutionary pressures, we believe that
news providers need to adopt not simply a
more technologically sophisticated grasp of
digital media but a model of journalism that is
less wedded to the production of consensus
politics and more concerned with articulating
differences. Television, as Richard Hoggart
reminds us in relation to the Pilkington
Inquiry, “should not hesitate to reflect ‘The
quarrel of this society with itself’, even
though politicians may not like the result.” 419
We believe that this is the case today just as
much as it was in 1962.
Drama
Drama, including soaps, is one of the most
popular genres associated with the remit of
public service. The genre’s popularity, with
an average audience share of 17% in 2015,
is matched by its high costs. As one of the
most expensive genres, a typical, prime-time
homegrown drama costs between £500,000
and £1 million per hour. 420 While public service
channels continue to be highest investors
in the genre, Ofcom’s 2015 review of public
service broadcasting reported a 31% fall in
investment in original drama since 2008. 421
Although audience satisfaction with drama is
stable, 422 BARB figures show that the average
time spent watching drama series and soaps
on the main channels fell by 50% between
2003 and 2015. 423
This does not appear to signal a lack of
interest in drama itself as falling levels of
investment by PSBs has been, at least in part,
offset by a huge increase in co-productions
and pay TV platforms offering globally
appealing US content. Streaming services
such as Netflix and Amazon appeal to
younger demographics, and the subscription
take-up has been exponential, with almost
a quarter of UK households subscribed
to Netflix by the end of 2015. 424 They are
changing our viewing habits too, with ‘binge
viewing’ becoming an increasingly popular
way of engaging with quality, complex drama.
The domination of US content is also clear
with a doubling of American scripted shows,
from 200 to an estimated 409, with content
produced for streaming media experiencing
the largest jump. 425 Netflix has recently
419
Richard Hoggart, A Measured Life, London: Transaction Publishers, 1994, p. 66.
420
Tunstall, 2015, p. 91.
421
Ofcom, presentation to the Inquiry, September 29, 2015.
422
Ofcom, Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age: Ofcom’s Third Review of Public Service Broadcasting. July 2015.
423
Thinkbox, presentation to the Inquiry, April 19, 2016.
424
Jasper Jackson, ‘Netflix races ahead of Amazon and Sky with 5m UK households’, the Guardian, March 22, 2016.
425
Josef Adalian, ‘There Were Over 400 scripted TV shows on the Air in 2015’, Vulture, December 16, 2015.
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