Broadcasting: Recent Developments

Lord Hampton Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hampton (CB)]

My Lords, I add my thanks to my noble friend Lord Fowler for his powerful introduction and declare my interest as a state secondary school teacher.

When talking about broadcasting, there is a tendency to look back at a pre-internet, pre-satellite halcyon time: a golden age of TV with three channels and wholesome radio. Our TV was black and white because my mother did not like the blood in medical programmes. There was no TV in the daytime, except for the Open University and some remarkably boring output. If you did not like it, you could go out into the rain and stare at the cows. If you missed something on TV, you would probably never see it again. But also, broadcasts could be genuinely national events, such as finding out who was number one on Radio 1, the FA Cup final and, rather bizarrely, the boat race. That is when most of us fell in love with test cricket, because in 1970s south Worcestershire, there was absolutely nothing else to do.

When we talk about broadcasting, we talk about the BBC. I am a great fan of the BBC. In fact, my maiden speech was on the subject of the BBC World Service, and I listen to 6 Music and Radio 5 in the mornings and the evenings. In fact, I prefer to listen to sport on the radio, as I can do something else at the same time, and when England inevitably lose, at least I have been doing something useful as well. I can always catch up on wickets, tries or goals on a variety of excellent websites.

I argue that for the viewer, the golden age of broadcasting is right now. We still have a strong BBC and other public service broadcasters; Netflix; Amazon Prime Video, which my wife works for; the internet; YouTube for music and old TV programmes that I missed in the 70s; pause and rewind—the list goes on, and it is in colour. I just avoid the medical programmes. However, we know that there are issues. Obviously, the BBC charter review is a huge one. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Vaizey, that the BBC is just doing too much. Its mission to inform, educate and entertain the public was coined in 1922, when there was no other radio service and certainly no television. As we have seen, there is no shortage of entertainment out there today. Public service broadcasters have been asking for freedom to collaborate more, and I hope that comes with a promise to simplify their delivery. Do we need iPlayer and More4 and ITVX? Does Red Button still exist? I am not exactly sure Freely is the answer.

And there is a real problem. In an incredibly controlled scientific experiment, I asked my children, aged 14 and 20, what parts of the BBC they interact with. “None” came the answer. On further questioning, there was a grudging admission that they used to watch CBBC and they were made to watch “Newsround” at school, but they do not use the BBC like we do. They consume television the same way they consume all other media—via a device—and they certainly do not listen to live radio or watch linear TV, even if they know what it is. Obviously, the BBC is aware that its role has had to change, and I am grateful to Laura Anderson, who took me through some of the ways it is evolving. “Newsround” is still a staple in schools, and now, Other Side of the Story and Solve the Story are helping young people navigate the world of AI and fake news. UNBOXD is a campaign for 16 to 24 year-olds. This is where the BBC, with its high level of public trust, still has a role to play.

PSBs have asked for further tax incentives. I wonder whether the Minister will comment on schemes that incentivise homegrown content and talent, particularly low-budget material made by small companies. The future of broadcast looks fragmented, fractious and fragile. We must take care so that this is the start, not the end, of the golden age of broadcasting.