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

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CHAPTER ONE TELEVISION AND PUBLIC SERVICE 14
Why television matters Television is in its death throes but has also been reborn; it is a relic of the mass audiences of the 20th century but it is has never been more popular or more creative; we are watching more television but television viewing is also declining. Such are the profound contradictions of television in the 21st century. The television screen remains at the heart of many a British home, and the output of the UK’s numerous television companies remains central to British life. Even in the information age of tablets and smartphones, when the idea of broadcasting can seem almost quaint, television remains a powerful – indeed, is arguably still the most powerful – medium for information, education and entertainment. Television has, in its relatively short history, been connected to major waves of social change. It was one of the main symbols (and accessories) of the consumer boom in the 1950s; it provided a crucial backdrop for many of the struggles that took place in the 1960s; satellite television helped to facilitate the globalisation that occurred from the 1980s while digital television in this century epitomises the abundance of an ‘information age’. It has given us new vocabularies and new ways of behaving: we no longer just binge on alcohol or chocolate but on episodes of our favourite TV dramas. Television also shapes our lives in many different ways. It has a crucial democratic purpose, for example through informing the public about the political process and encouraging us to engage with it, hosting political debate and discussion, investigating and analysing public affairs, and dramatising the most important moments in the UK’s political life. Unlike the print and online news media, UK broadcasters are formally required to do all of this impartially. In recent years, television has helped –not without significant controversy – to frame the issues behind the referenda on Scottish independence and EU membership as well as the 2015 general election. Many of the key moments in those campaigns happened on television and much of the reporting that informed the public’s decision making was by television journalists. Television’s highly regulated status has long distinguished it from the UK’s notoriously partisan print media, and it is all the more distinctive today amid the cacophony of the internet. Within the existing regulatory framework, television ought to allow for the expression of differences and a respect for opposing views that allows us to work through our conflicts. In a world where increasingly popular social media platforms can act as an echo chamber, it is especially important that we are forced to consider a full range of perspectives and voices. Television also provides a means of collective experience. For example, television brings major sporting event such as the European football championships and the Olympic Games into tens of millions of UK households. It is still largely through television that people can watch such significant occasions. This sharing happens on a daily basis too. Television facilitates conversation, both while it is being watched and afterwards. A few shows – Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor, EastEnders, Coronation Street – have survived the fragmentation of the multichannel era to remain talking points for watercoolers across the UK. Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and 15
Page 1 and 2: A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVIS
Page 3 and 4: Contents Foreword by David Puttnam
Page 5 and 6: To instruct democracy, if possible
Page 7 and 8: Welcome Television is leading a cha
Page 9 and 10: CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
Page 11 and 12: PSB channels 71.9% All other channe
Page 13: CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
Page 19 and 20: 1982 1990s 2012 The BBC-ITV duopoly
Page 23 and 24: Time for action Today’s policymak
Page 29 and 30: Basic principles At the core of pre
Page 39 and 40: The multichannel revolution Perhaps
Page 51 and 52: The BBC For most people, the BBC is
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CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
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Channel 4 If the BBC is the most im
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Only 8% of Channel 4’s total spen
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ITV and Channel 5 The focus of atte
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The changing face of ITV 1993-2002
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New sources of public service conte
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Television and diversity We have ea
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THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE TELEVISED If t
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Nations and Regions Public service
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Content diversity One of the key wa
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Sports content now accounts for som
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Talent development and training In
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Conclusion Television is changing.
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Recommendations General The UK’s
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Appointing the BBC board Sir David
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APPLICATION OF THE NOLAN PRINCIPLES
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BAFTA members’ survey delivered i
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Public service broadcasting, public
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Inquiry events Do we still need pub
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Acknowledgements Inquiry Report Con
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A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

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