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

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A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION The television ecology within the creative economy The word ‘ecology’ has sometimes been used to describe the mix of broadcasting provision in the UK, and it is an apt term. It captures the links that exist between the large variety of actors who make up the television world, their reliance on each other and competition with each other. As Channel 4 put it to us, this ecology is “the result of a series of enlightened policy interventions placing a group of organisations all with different models, purposes, missions and incentives at the centre of the creative industries.” 40 It is impossible to consider the mission or market position of the BBC, say, in isolation, without taking into account the effect it has on other broadcasters, as well as producers and distributors. It is important to emphasise that while the main public service broadcasters play key roles in the wider television environment in particular because of their domination of investment in original UK programming, we have a genuinely mixed ecology that now includes many broadcasters with no clear public service remit. These commercial broadcasters are largely unregulated 41 but, according to their trade association COBA, they nevertheless play a vital role in, for example, increasing plurality of commissioning beyond the PSBs, diversifying funding streams and stimulating creative competition in a range of genres such as children’s and drama output. 42 Television organisations and industry professionals need each other and interact in various ways. A number of quite idiosyncratic entities – different species, we might say – live alongside each other, competing and co-existing. If properly regulated, this coexistence can benefit all participants. As the BBC told us: “When the BBC performs well, others have to raise their game to compete for audiences, which challenges the BBC to aim higher – in a positive feedback loop that has increased content investment and variety.” 43 This ecology has built up over time as we have seen, driven by technological innovation and disruption as well as by public policy intervention and market forces. The television ecology is not self-sufficient, though: it feeds off the involvement of the public, and plays a role in nurturing creativity at a grassroots level. It is also part of the wider ecology of the creative industries and the creative economy. This economy has been of increasing value to the UK. Government figures show that in 2013 some 2.62 million people were employed in the creative economy (the creative industries, plus those in creative jobs working outside the creative industries), which represents 8.5% of the population, up from 1.81 million or 6.5% in 1997. 44 Of these, 259,000 were employed in ‘film, TV, video, radio and photography’, up 12% in two years. 45 The creative industries contributed £76.9 billion of ‘gross value added’ to the UK, or 5% of the overall economy, in 2013, with £9.3 billion or 12% of that attributable to film, TV, video, radio and photography. 46 The latter sector 40 Channel 4, submission to the Inquiry. 41 Along with PSB services, however, they are subject to the European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive that has rules on European content, hate speech and consumer protection for example. This report was written before the result of the UK’s referendum on membership of the EU, the outcome of which will obviously determine the future application of the AVMSD to UK television. 42 Commercial Broadcasters Association, submission to the Inquiry. 43 BBC, submission to the Inquiry. 44 Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Creative Industries Economic Estimates – January 2015, 2015, p. 17. 45 Ibid., Table 4, p. 12. 24
CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD CREATIVE ECONOMY EMPLOYMENT Over the last 20 years. Source: DCMS. 1997 1.91 Million 2013 2.62 Million was even more valuable when it came to export of services, accounting for £4.3 billion or 25% of the £17.3 billion total in 2012. 47 The idea of an ecology has been employed for more than a decade in the arts world, where there have been attempts to map the interactions and interdependencies between different – and differently funded – sectors. One recent study has developed this idea extensively and looked in detail at the relationships between three broadly defined spheres: the publicly subsidised, the commercial, and the amateur or ‘homemade’. 48 The language of ‘ecology’ has been adopted widely in arts circles. The culture minister Ed Vaizey praised the “creative ecology” in a 2011 speech: “The great strength of the arts is its ecology – subsidised arts feeding the commercial arts, the voluntary arts and the amateur arts ensuring the creative spirit is present in every corner of the nation.” In 2014, Arts Council England devoted a paper to setting out how it was using its investments to “shape a national cultural ecology”. Its then chief executive explained: “The metaphor of an ecology, of a living balanced environment, expresses how nothing happens within this system without its impact being felt widely.” 50 This latter observation suggests an inherent fragility. Ecologies are predicated on equilibrium but such balances can be delicate, and even what appear to be modest changes can have major repercussions. It follows that we should be very careful about upsetting these balances. Radical upheaval may sometimes be necessary – as we believe it is today – but we have to be sure that specific changes will strengthen, and not weaken, the viability of the overall environment. 46 Ibid., Table 7, p. 19. 47 Ibid., Table 13, p. 31. 48 John Holden: The Ecology of Culture, Arts & Humanities Research Council, 2015. 49 Ed Vaizey: The Creative Ecology, speech at the State of the Arts conference, London, February 10, 2011. 50 Alan Davey in Arts Council England, This England: How Arts Council England uses its investments to shape a national cultural ecology, 2014. Alan Davey is now the controller of Radio 3. 25
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 15 and 16: Why television matters Television i
Page 19 and 20: 1982 1990s 2012 The BBC-ITV duopoly
Page 23: 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
Page 67 and 68: Channel 4 If the BBC is the most im
Page 71 and 72: Only 8% of Channel 4’s total spen
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CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL
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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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