Public Service Broadcasting
Television and radio services carrying statutory obligations, under the Communications Act 2003, to provide a defined range of genres and content — including programming that reflects UK culture, news, and content made outside London — reviewed periodically by Ofcom.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Unlike ordinary commercial broadcasters, public service broadcasters carry specific statutory content obligations in exchange for benefits such as guaranteed prominence and, historically, access to public funding. Section 264 of the Communications Act 2003 places OFCOM under a duty to review how well these obligations are being met: 'it shall be the duty of OFCOM... as soon as practicable after the end of the period of twelve months beginning with the commencement of this section... to satisfy, for that period, the review and reporting obligations', repeated periodically thereafter (at intervals of not more than five years).
The substance of what public service broadcasters must collectively deliver is set out in detail: the Act requires that 'the audiovisual content made available by the public service broadcasters (taken together)' includes an appropriate range and duration of independent productions, original productions, and programmes made outside the M25 area, and that 'the range of genres of audiovisual content made available by the public service broadcasters (taken together) constitutes an appropriate range of genres.' This reflects the underlying policy that public service broadcasting exists to serve audiences collectively across a spread of genres and production locations, not simply to maximise any single channel's ratings.
Related terms
Official sources
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