牛牛资源

Public service broadcasters such as the BBC must reinvent themselves if they are to survive the digital future, a report from a 牛牛资源 academic concludes.

In , Professor Des Freedman sets out how UK public service broadcasters (PSBs) face increased competition from commercial rivals, ongoing pressure from hostile governments, distrustful audiences, and ongoing questions over a culture of elitism and outmoded standards of impartiality. 

Professor Freedman calls for PSBs to become 鈥榩ublic service content creators and distributors鈥� which are financially sustainable, relevant to younger audiences, insulated from vested interests, and diverse in both staffing and output. 

The report鈥檚 recommendations include:

• Moving decisions on the BBC鈥檚 Board and licence fee away from government and to an independent body
• Ring fencing funding for content specifically aimed at black and minority ethnic audiences
• Launching a new publicly-owned digital media organisation to generate pioneering digital public service content and collaborate with other content providers, including theatres, universities and museums
• Developing tech solutions through this new corporation to enhance democratic participation, reduce misinformation, and harness data for the public good

Despite the increasing popularity of streaming services, broadcast TV has continued to reach around 90% of the UK population each week. PSBs, particularly the BBC, dominate the sector. BBC output accounts for 63% of all radio listening in the UK and 31% of broadcast TV consumption.

But Professor Freedman鈥檚 report explains how these seemingly healthy figures are obscuring 鈥榓 more disturbing pattern of declining audiences, demographic shifts and political interventions that present a serious threat to the financial viability鈥� of PSBs, because they are dominating a shrinking market. 

With an overall reduction in consumption of 20% since 2010, these channels are dependent on older audiences, as 16 to 34-year olds spend far more time with streaming services. Despite its reputation as a 鈥榖roadcast heavyweight鈥�, the BBC accounts for only 1.5% of all time spent online. 

The BBC has had to make huge savings in recent years due to stagnating income from the licence fee. It has also found itself under attack by successive governments, which has escalated under Boris Johnson. 

Des Freedman is Professor of Media and Communica颅tions at 牛牛资源. He led the  chaired by Lord Puttnam in 2016 and is a founder member of the Media Reform Coalition. 

The report on PSBs was published this month in English and German by the non-profit political foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 

Professor Freedman said: 鈥淭he UK鈥檚 PSBs have been weakened by political attacks and the rise of commercial rivals, and they鈥檝e lost some of their reputation for independence and innovation. They have relied too long on their global reputation and dominant position in the domestic media landscape but these are advantages that are fast evaporating. 

鈥淵et the need for a media that can act as a counterweight to government pressure, the clickbait logic of wholly commercial enterprises, and the growing power of an unregulated tech sector is greater than ever.鈥� 

is available to download or read online