Television Broadcasting in Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Contents


Written evidence from Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland (ACNI)

PREAMBLE

  1.  The Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland (ACNI) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on its inquiry into Television Broadcasting in Northern Ireland. This is a timely inquiry in light of the momentous changes occurring in TV broadcasting with digital switchover fast approaching in 2012.

  2.  Ofcom's recent second review of Public Service Broadcasting has highlighted many salient issues which will be referred to in this submission. While ACNI wishes to reassert the important role which Ofcom plays in terms of regulating the broadcasting landscape in the UK, it is equally important to emphasise the crucial role which government plays in terms of funding public service broadcasting. ACNI believes that the time is ripe for a competitive funding model with the following objectives: to maintain plurality of public service broadcasting in Northern Ireland (including, as appropriate, that provided by Republic of Ireland broadcasters); to obtain acceptable levels of portrayal of Northern Ireland on UK wide PSB networks, and greater production from Northern Ireland; and to have a sustainable model for the production of news and non-news content and indigenous language programming for Northern Ireland.

  3.  ACNI supports a model for the provision of Public Service Broadcasting in the nations which is not tied to a one size fits all paradigm. There may, of course, be similarities with the other devolved nations but the specific characteristics of Northern Ireland as far as PSB is concerned must be addressed.

  4.  Such a model should be robust and sustainable—it needs to be neutral towards the short-term fortunes of UTV and the ITV sector; it needs to be relevant to the opportunities provided by digital media and must therefore enjoy a source (or sources) of sustainable funding similar to that enjoyed by the BBC.

  5.  This model, to complement the BBC, must be similarly sustainable in terms of funding source(s) but with greater flexibility to more easily accommodate new directions and genres and it must be attuned to the political and social realities of Northern Ireland.

PUBLIC SERVICE PROVISION AND FUNDING BEYOND THE BBC

  6.  ACNI considers that the BBC should remain the cornerstone of public service content but that it is essential to ensure additional options for audiences. Otherwise, the market beyond the BBC may succumb to the lowest common denominator in terms of programming depending on audience figures, advertising revenues and/or economic exigencies.

  7.  It is absolutely essential, therefore, that public service provision and funding beyond the BBC continues to form part of any future system. This will ensure the best outcome for audiences in terms of plurality of, choice between, and accessibility to a range of quality and diverse programming. This is also the best way to ensure that the audio-visual creative industries are fostered. Without public service provision and funding beyond the BBC, there is no certainty that the market would deliver plurality for audiences particularly in the genres of news, current affairs, factual and children's programming and news and non-news for the nations.

  8.  It is important that public service provision and funding beyond the BBC is not confined solely to delivery via the traditional linear TV platform given the increasingly fragmented broadcasting ecology. Alternative methods of delivery of content to audiences should also be encouraged particularly in the light of the possibilities emanating from the Digital Britain interim report and the digital dividend review (DDR).

  9.  Since Northern Ireland is unique in the UK in sharing a land border with another country, unique circumstances prevail in Northern Ireland whereby additional plurality is generated for local audiences through access to Republic of Ireland PSB broadcasters. With digital switchover (DSO) fast approaching in 2012, it is essential that there is joined-up thinking between the governments and the respective regulators in both jurisdictions to ensure a seamless transition to DSO so that audiences on both sides of the border can continue to access the various channels. This has implications for public service provision and funding in Northern Ireland since it is not inconceivable that UTV could form an alliance with a broadcaster in the Republic of Ireland. It is also possible that the refined competitive funding model could help maintain plurality in Northern Ireland by enabling Republic of Ireland broadcasters to access such funding where they could demonstrate sufficient audience reach within Northern Ireland. There is a precedent for this with a legacy of broadcasters on both sides of the border accessing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland's Sound and Vision fund and Northern Ireland Screen's funds.

FUNDING MODEL

  10.  ACNI considers the refined competitive funding model to be the most appropriate model. Such a model could be best placed to deal with the challenges of digital media and the increasingly competitive market. This model would ensure that a mix of public service content is delivered in a transparent manner across a range of providers.

  11.  The competitive funding model could be administered by a UK-wide independent body which would enable both content delivery providers and the production sector to bid for funding to deliver public service content including TV, radio and digital media content. This national body might be replicated in the nations and regions with localised independent bodies administering the funding. Part of the overall funding should be ring-fenced to ensure delivery of public service content which the market would not otherwise deliver, for example in the areas of news, non-news and indigenous languages content.

  12.  Both the national and the localised structures could also be established in such a way as to ensure that the production sector throughout the UK is fostered and that portrayal of the nations and regions on the networks becomes the norm rather than the exception.

  13. ACNI believes that Channel 4 should have an extended remit to innovate and provide distinctive UK content across platforms. It could compete for funding beyond its existing regulatory assets. ACNI does not consider that a special case for direct funding needs to be made for Channel 4 compared with the other commercial public service broadcasters (PSBs) since it does not have any stronger track record, particularly in Northern Ireland, of delivering public service content. But what is clearly needed is to ensure there is a financially robust alternative provider of public service content alongside the BBC, with possibly Channel 4 at its heart, supported through joint ventures or mergers, with the scale necessary to sustain effective delivery of public purposes across digital media.

  14. ACNI believes that it might be possible for ITV1, Five and Teletext to continue to have public service obligations after 2014 were they able to access a competitive fund. The advantage of continuing to impose public service obligations on these broadcasters would ensure that audiences could continue to easily access this content given the established nature of these broadcast outlets and their track record in terms of delivering high quality output.

  15. Were ITV1 to have an ongoing role in terms of delivering public service content after 2014, the Channel 3 licensing structure should be simplified to 5 licences for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. Ofcom's audience research indicates that "Channel 3 has a symbolic value in the devolved nations and is seen to represent national identity in ways which other TV channels do not."

  16. The competitive funding model would probably work best if it consisted of a small number of long term contracts to deliver public service content particularly in terms of news. ACNI welcomes Ofcom's proposals—both those in its PSB review and those outlined more recently—for independently funded news consortia. Flexibility could be built into the system so that small short term contracts might also be awarded to encourage new entrants and new voices, where deemed appropriate. Experience of competitive funding models in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland shows that it works best when an independent body administers the funding through competitive tenders with part-funding from the broadcaster/content delivery provider and when editorial control remains with the broadcaster/content delivery provider. Some ring-fencing may be required to ensure that particular genres of public service broadcasting would be protected.

  17.  It should be noted that Northern Ireland has the lowest national programming spend in the UK at £3.85 per capita compared to a UK average of £32 (Ofcom Communications Market Report 2007 Nations & Regions (NI)). It is imperative that due cognisance is taken of this spending deficit in the implementation of a competitive funding model.

NATIONS AND REGIONS NEWS

  18.  ACNI, while understanding the circumstances which led to the reduction in the news quota on UTV to four hours per week hopes that UTV will continue to view the quota as a minimum requirement rather than as a ceiling. ACNI believes that nations and regions news from a variety of sources is essential and that additional funding should be provided to sustain it. The BBC cannot become the sole preserve of nations and regions news. News coverage is particularly critical in the nations considering the paucity of news from the nations on the networks and the varying arrangements in place in the nations under devolution. News for Northern Ireland could be delivered via the kind of independently funded news consortium proposed by Ofcom in the PSB review.

  19. While broadcasting is currently a reserved matter for Westminster, the arrangements created under the competitive funding model in the nations should ensure local accountability while also guaranteeing no political interference.

LOCAL CONTENT SERVICES

  20.  ACNI believes that local content services have an important role to play in ensuring plurality whereby local communities are given a voice in terms of portraying themselves and/or are involved in production of content. ACNI agrees with Ofcom's approach in the digital dividend review, which will enable local content service providers to bid for interleaved spectrum and also potentially through the `band manager' arrangements, as being a good use of the spectrum. ACNI considers that broadband offers huge potential for delivery of local content services. Appropriate funding for local content could be secured via the competitive funding model with proper cognisance being given to uptake, availability and reach of local service providers. The Digital Britain proposals for a 2mb universal service make the possibilities for this delivery platform very real.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

  21.  ACNI suggests a combination of sources to ensure the future provision of public service content beyond the BBC. This mix of funding could include top slicing of the licence fee, ring-fencing the digital switchover surplus during the post digital switchover era, industry levies, direct government funding from the national and devolved administrations and tax breaks. All options should be considered at this stage.

  22.  ACNI wishes to highlight the following funding sources which could be considered to fund the future of television broadcasting.

  23.  Regulatory assets: ACNI suggests that privileged access to the digital terrestrial television (DTT) spectrum will retain some value for commercial public service broadcasters although in the long term, the value of spectrum benefits is uncertain. Where there is residual value in access to the DTT spectrum, ACNI considers this could be used to support the commercial public service broadcasters during the post digital switchover.

  24.  Licence fee: ACNI suggests that the digital switchover surplus could be used to part-fund the competitive funding model. Apart from the surplus, ACNI suggests that there may merit in examining the approach used in the Republic of Ireland with the Irish government setting aside 5% of the licence fee per annum to create a competitive funding model. While ACNI understands that top slicing the BBC licence fee may not be an option in the medium term since the current BBC licence fee settlement runs to 2016, ACNI would suggest that this issue might be revisited at that stage.

  25.  Industry levies: ACNI suggests that industry levies could be used to part fund the competitive funding model which it advocates.

  26.  Direct government funding: ACNI believes that this is very much a viable option for part-funding the competitive funding model. Funding could emanate from Westminster for the national funding structure and from the devolved administrations for the devolved funding structures. However, ACNI also believes other approaches might be considered, for example tax breaks could provide an additional viable option. Tax breaks are commonplace in the film industry and this approach should be replicated for production of public service content for delivery on TV, radio and digital media platforms.

  27.  Specifically in relation to funding for Channel 4, ACNI believes that it should retain its existing regulatory assets and be allowed to compete for funding in the competitive funding model; it is essential that the long term funding structure for Channel 4 and its role as an alternative provider of public service content, is secured no later than 2010; otherwise funding uncertainties could have a detrimental impact on its capacity to deliver its existing remit.

QUOTAS

  28.  ACNI agrees with Ofcom's approach of prioritising prime time regional news on ITV plc by reducing the volume of news during the day. ACNI welcomes Ofcom's decision as a result of the second review of PSB to revise its original proposal for non-news output on UTV from a minimum of one and a half hours per week to a minimum of two hours per week since it believes it is within the capacity of the devolved licensee to retain its commitment at this level. ACNI wishes to emphasise that this quota should be viewed by the licensees as a floor rather than a ceiling in terms of delivery of output. ACNI would suggest that given the relative strength and current viability of UTV, they should be able to fulfil their current commitments to news and other PSB programmes throughout the licence period.

  29.  ACNI is concerned at the low levels of production from Northern Ireland identified in Ofcom's Communications Market Reports and welcomes moves by the BBC and now Channel 4 to increase production from the nations and looks forward to production from Northern Ireland—and as a result portrayal of Northern Ireland on the UK networks—increasing significantly.

1 May 2009



 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2010
Prepared 26 January 2010