12 REPORT Public Service Broadcasting
Words by Chelsea Fearnley FEED reports on the latest evidence given by Netflix to the UK government’s inquiry into the future of public service broadcasting DOES VOD SPELL THE END FOR PSB? n March, the Communications
Final evidence for the inquiry was given in Parliament on 2 July and the committee called upon representatives from Netflix to discuss its commitment to British television. During the proceedings, the committee expressed concern that while Netflix is doing co-productions with British independent television producers, it is not doing enough to ensure the secondary rights that are needed to build these producers businesses. Viscount Colville of Culross said: “We heard from Jane Turton of All3Media that SVOD companies, ‘pay a premium on top of the cost of production that compensates the producer for the lost opportunity, because they are no longer able to exploit the rights. That is a model. Netflix would like to do more of that’. “Look at the BBC’s Bodyguard . That was a co-production with [Netflix], but all the IP, the secondary rights, was taken by Netflix for worldwide global exploitation. The BBC was not able to use that IP to build revenue for BBC Studios.”
Committee of the House of Lords in the UK launched an inquiry into public service broadcasting (PSB)
THE BBC’S BODYGUARD WAS A CO-PRODUCTION, BUT ALL THE IP WAS TAKEN BY NETFLIX
in the age of VOD. VOD services, such as Netflix and Amazon, have made available thousands of hours of content for subscriptions starting at £5.99 a month – less than half the cost of what people in the UK currently pay monthly for a TV licence. This has presented challenges for public service broadcasters, such as the BBC and ITV, with viewership falling by half since 2010 for audiences under the age of 25, according to the Communications Committee. Over the past four months, the committee has called upon witnesses to investigate whether the popularity of VOD services has made the concept of PSB redundant, in whole or in part. If so, then what form should PSB take in the future and how can it remain financially viable? And what action should policymakers and regulators take?
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