Purposes and characteristics
16. In recent years, the public service broadcasting
debate has moved on from discussion of quotas in specific categories
and genres of programming. The Government and Ofcom have started
to look at public service content as content that exhibits certain
characteristics and fulfils certain purposes. In 2005, for example,
Ofcom proposed the following purposes of public service television
broadcasting:
- to inform ourselves and others
and to increase our understanding of the world through news, information
and analysis of current events and ideas;
- to stimulate our interest in and knowledge of
arts, science, history and other topics through content that is
accessible and can encourage informal learning;
- to reflect and strengthen our cultural identity
through original programming at UK, national and regional level,
on occasion bringing audiences together for shared experiences;
and
- to make us aware of different cultures and alternative
viewpoints, through programmes that reflect the lives of other
people and other communities, both within the UK and elsewhere.
17. Ofcom also proposed that public service television
broadcasting had the following characteristics:
- high quality—well funded
and well produced;
- original—new UK content, rather than repeats
or acquisitions;
- innovative—breaking new ideas or re-inventing
exciting approaches, rather than copying old ones;
- challenging—making viewers think;
- engaging—remaining accessible and enjoyed
by viewers; and
- widely available—if content is publicly
funded, a large majority of citizens need to be given the chance
to watch it. [19]
18. The Government also adopted a "purposes
and characteristics" approach to public service content in
relation to the BBC Charter review. Instead of specifying exactly
what it wanted the BBC to achieve, the Government simply stated
that every activity the BBC undertakes must meet one or more of
the following purposes:
- sustaining citizenship and
civil society;
- promoting education and learning;
- stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
by using the licence fee as venture capital for creativity;
- representing the UK, its nations and regions;
- bringing the UK to the world and the world to
the UK; and
- building digital Britain.[20]
19. In 2005, Ofcom proposed a set of public purposes
for radio which are similar to the BBC's public purposes with
one addition: promoting social gain.[21]
20. A "purposes and characteristics" approach
for looking at public service content was supported by some witnesses.
Ofcom argued that such an approach was necessary because television
programming genres are becoming less distinct and can vary significantly
in the degree to which they could be described as "public
service broadcasting". Ofcom also considered that a purposes
and characteristics approach would remain relevant over time,
even as new technologies and media emerge. [22]
Lord Burns, former adviser on BBC Charter review to the Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport, told us that due to the
changing nature of the marketplace, he was "comfortable"
with an approach which concentrated on the components that might
be thought of as public service content.[23]
The RadioCentre[24] agreed
with Ofcom's proposed public purposes of radio.[25]
21. Other witnesses identified weaknesses with a
purposes and characteristics approach. David Elstein, Chairman
of the Broadcasting Policy Group, argued that trying to define
public service content by its purposes, characteristics, categories
or origin is "inevitably doomed to failure" as it would
not give the Government or policymakers any idea of how
much public service content was actually needed, nor how much
to pay for it.[26] The
Satellite and Cable Broadcasters' Group said that Ofcom's purposes
and characteristics are very broad and "difficult to measure":
it considered that they should be tightened.[27]
Irwin Stelzer, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the Hudson
Institute, cautioned that a definition that includes concepts
such as "informing ourselves and increasing our understanding
of the world" was not useful as it is too broad around which
to build a sensible policy.[28]
22. While some witnesses accepted a purposes and
characteristics framework, they also noted that the wider broadcasting
market provides a large amount of content that meets Ofcom's criteria.
Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom, accepted that some programmes
and channels provided by the market do to some degree meet its
public service purposes and characteristics; he gave Sky News
as an example.[29] BSkyB
itself told us that "if one accepts the broad definition
of the purposes and characteristics of public service broadcasting
content put forward by Ofcom, it is clear that there is a huge
and increasing amount of public service content available via
the large number of channels available on satellite, cable and
other digital distribution platforms".[30]
We discuss the digital multichannel sector's contribution
to the provision of public service content in Chapter 3.
23. The purposes
and characteristics approach put forward by Ofcom, though hard
to measure and assess, is a useful starting point for examining
public service content. We agree that a huge amount of currently
available content meets these purposes and characteristics, and
that this content is available from the designated public service
broadcasters and from other providers including commercial broadcasters
who are not bound by public service obligations. Given this, we
believe that the fact that content exhibits public service purposes
and characteristics as defined by Ofcom is not, in itself, a sufficient
condition for the Government to considering intervening to provide
this content. We discuss where it might
be appropriate for the Government to consider intervening to enable
the provision of this type of content in Chapter 6.
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