New regulations will protect UK broadcasters

The British government is poised to create new laws that will protect public-service broadcasters, including the BBC, from potentially slipping into obscurity in a future digital world dominated by internet-based television.

The Financial Times said Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is worried that high-quality broadcasters, especially those that do not generate income through advertising revenue, could be lost among a deluge of internet-based broadcasters.

The paper said London's planned reforms will draw on recommendations that Ofcom, the UK's official government-sanctioned media regulator, will unveil in July.

The recommendations and resulting legislation are likely to amount to the world's most far-reaching regulations aimed at ensuring technology giants are not able to use the digital arena to sideline public service media broadcasters, which in the UK include ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, the Financial Times said.

The paper added that the new rules will likely force the makers of internet-connected televisions to prominently carry apps for public service media broadcasters, which are known as PSMs, on their streaming interfaces.

The PSM broadcasters would then be better able to commercialize their product and maintain their profiles.

ITV explained in a letter to Ofcom why it and other PSM broadcasters have been pushing for such regulations, and why they should be accompanied by rules that protect fair competition.

"Prominence isn't enough on its own if global platforms can use their financial muscle to squeeze the value out of PSM investments," the company said. "Regulation must guarantee us the opportunity to negotiate deals that fairly reflect the value of our risky investment in UK content."

The British government is understood to be strongly in favor of such legislation and could create new laws as soon as next year.

Ofcom first suggested the need for such laws in 2019 and lawmakers sitting on the House of Commons select committee for digital, culture, media and sport have said they would like to see the government move even faster.

Oliver Dowden, the UK's culture secretary, has reportedly also been asked to look at whether online platforms such as YouTube should similarly have to give prominence to PSM broadcasters, but extending the proposed new laws to such platforms does not appear to be feasible at the moment.

The Financial Times said Google, which makes operating systems for smart televisions, warned Ofcom in a written submission that such a move would make "little sense from either a commercial or public interest point of view".

Meanwhile, the British government is also looking at regulating online content through its Online Safety Bill, which is being drawn up in response to a sharp rise in online abuse.

The bill will compel technology companies to better police their platforms, under the supervision of Ofcom.