The UK government has published a draft media bill this week that seeks to narrow the regulatory gap between British broadcasters and global streamers. 

These measures would give the region’s media regulator, Ofcom, oversight of global streaming platforms and the right to investigate and enforce standards of content, as it does for traditional broadcasters. The reforms were first proposed almost a year ago in a white paper that was released in April 2022.

For the first time, the regulator will have authority to field complaints from VOD viewers and take action if standards are breached, especially as they relate to children and the age-appropriateness of content. Should a service fail to enforce British standards, they could be fined up to US$308,000 or have their UK availability restricted.

Discoverability of local content is also a primary focus of the bill, under which devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes and streaming sticks will be required to prominently feature public broadcasters’ digital services. This is to “ensure distinctly British programming remains easy to find,” according to a release, which also notes that the bill will be introduced before Parliament “as soon as time allows.” 

The bill has been drafted during a period of upheaval for traditional Brit broadcasters, which are struggling to adapt to declining linear viewership. Notably in the kids space, CBBC and ITV are preparing to migrate their kids content catalogues to the iPlayer and ITVX platforms, respectively.

Elsewhere in the bill, VOD platforms will be required to provide subtitles on 80% of programming, audio description on 10%, and signed interpretation on at least 5%. 

Regulators around the world are starting to catch up with the dominance of globally available streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ by adapting existing broadcast codes to encompass them. Countries such as France are already regulating streamers’ presence in their media markets, and Canada and Australia have bills and regulations in the works. 

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