Media Bill (Third sitting)

Andy Carter Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 7th December 2023 Public Bill Committees

[Sir John Whittingdale]

My hon. Friend is right. As he says, the technology in this area is evolving very rapidly, so it is important that the regulatory framework is sufficiently flexible to keep up to date with technology as it arises. His point is that we are moving towards viewers having greater and greater control not only of what they watch, but of what comes up as recommendations for them to watch, and can choose which channels appear, and that will continue to evolve. It is therefore important that Ofcom can take account of technology developments in the framework.

[Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)]

The Minister and the shadow spokesperson have been talking about regional content in respect of national content for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is incredibly important that viewers in the regions are able to access regional news and information. Does the Minister agree that it is incumbent upon service providers such as ITV and the BBC to ensure that, when people access their services, it is very easy to find that regional content? Geolocation is particularly helpful, because it will recognise the user’s postcode, but there needs to be a requirement for public service broadcasters to ensure that it is easy to be set up, so that people can access their local area. That would certainly benefit the service providers, who we all know always talk to us about the strength of their services, such as the number of viewers who watch Granada and other services in the regions. Does the Minister agree that it really comes down to ensuring that the public service broadcasters have those things set up properly and prominently in their apps?

[Sir John Whittingdale]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. As I said—and as the hon. Lady the Member for Barnsley East mentioned in her remarks—the issue of regional prominence is important. It is our view that we should replicate the current regional prominence arrangements under the linear regime in the online space, given that the nations and regions are a core component of PSBs. We designed the regime to give Ofcom the discretion to determine various ways of delivering appropriate prominence across different platforms, and that includes delivering regionally.

We expect that Ofcom will set out different options, depending on what would be proportionate and reasonable for RTSSs to deliver, having regard to technical considerations. One method, which my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South suggested, would be to ask the viewer to submit a postcode at the time that their smart TV or other device is first set up. That would be sufficient to enable regional prominence. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit their views on how regional prominence should be delivered in due course, when Ofcom consults on the code.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir John Whittingdale]

The first thing to say is that nobody is forcing Channel 4 either to acquire a production capacity or to develop its own production capacity. That will be a matter for Channel 4; we are merely giving it the option. I hear the hon. Gentleman’s point about Channel 4 saying that it is not particularly interested in pursuing that option, but I think that has changed. I have had a lot of discussions with Channel 4, including one yesterday to discuss precisely how the requirements would work. The fact that Channel 4 has engaged a lot with us on the detail—particularly the competition aspect of the commissioning process—indicates that, even if not immediately, it certainly wishes to explore the option and have that ability. I do not think that debating how the requirements will operate is a waste of time. I do not know when Channel 4 will take advantage of the option; that is a matter for it to decide, but it is certainly keen to have it available.

[Andy Carter]

I hear what the hon. Member for Eltham said, but all the other media businesses in PSB have acquired production companies so that they can sell products around the world. If Channel 4 said, “We are not going to do that; we are just going to stay as a broadcaster publisher,” it would be left in an incredibly vulnerable state. I encourage Channel 4 to get on and move into that space, because having alternative revenue streams to advertising will give it more certainty in the future.

[Sir John Whittingdale]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Having an in-house production facility, as, for instance, ITV and the BBC do, allows channels to potentially make programmes not just for their own transmission but for others as well. It therefore offers a diversification of revenue streams.

The other point my hon. Friend might be getting at is that Channel 4 commissions all its programming output externally, but that is usually governed by terms of trade that mean that it does not retain the intellectual property of that programme. The restriction limits the amount of money that it can make from the commissioning of programmes. There are reasons why Channel 4 might well want to explore the option, but, as I say, it is not required to do so. It will be a matter for the channel.

The hon. Member for Barnsley East rightly raised the concern that giving Channel 4 that freedom could adversely impact the independent production sector. That is why we have included in the Bill the requirements for fair competition and for Ofcom to monitor the statement of commissioning policy and carry out a review to ensure that there is not an adverse impact of the kind that she described, as well as the increase in the independent production quota. I think that the Bill contains protections for the independent production sector, but at the same time gives Channel 4 the freedom that there is a strong chance it will wish to exploit at some future date.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 29 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 30 and 31 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 32

S4C’s powers and public service remit

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.