UK Streaming and Cinema Sector

Viscount Colville of Culross Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

While I do not necessarily agree with the noble Lord’s analysis of the reason Netflix withdrew its bid, the Government recognise the importance of a competitive and diverse streaming market for consumers, creators and the wider screen sector. We also recognise the vital role of intellectual property in a strong copyright regime. That is why the Secretaries of State for DSIT and DCMS are working closely with the creative and AI sectors to consider all potential options and get to the right solution. We have convened expert working groups and parliamentarians, including a number of noble Lords, to inform our approach and will continue to engage stakeholders to ensure that our copyright framework values and protects human creativity. We will publish a comprehensive report and economic impact assessment by 18 March this year.

[Viscount Colville of Culross (CB)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Keeley (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will have the Cross Benches next, then we will come to Labour.

[Viscount Colville of Culross (CB)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a television producer. The Media Act set up prominence for public service broadcasters in the digital space, but it does not cover video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, which is where increasing numbers of young people are watching their content. Now that the BBC has announced a partnership with YouTube, does the Minister agree that the prominence regime should be extended to amplify discoverability of public service broadcasting content on these services?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Public service broadcasters are vital, and it is important for us to recognise how central YouTube is to a number of young people’s access to content. We welcome Ofcom’s recommendation that public service broadcasters and platforms such as YouTube work together urgently to ensure that public service media content is made prominent on fair terms. We are considering Ofcom’s recommendation for legislation to support this. However, we want to see the outcome of these discussions in the first instance and encourage YouTube and PSBs to work together to try to achieve a deeper partnership that could benefit them and audiences. If I have not quite answered the noble Viscount’s question, I am happy to pick that up with him afterwards.