Ofcom welcomes PSBs’ kids plans

UK media regulator Ofcom has reacted positively to broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5’s plans for improving their provision of children’s content.

In their submissions to Ofcom, the commercial public service broadcasters (PSBs) committed to creating and investing more in original UK programmes made just for UK children and teenagers, including live-action, entertainment and news.

ITV has increased the budget of CITV by almost 10% for content for 6-12s and pledged to develop new online news and current affairs offerings for older children, while C4 is preparing a digital-first proposition targeted at 13-16s.

C5, which is owned by US media giant Viacom, has pledged to double the budget of its children’s block Milkshake!. This will see it increase its production of original content for the strand from 29 hours in 2018 to 50 hours per year from 2021.

Ofcom’s believes that these plans respond positively to the concerns it highlighted in its Children’s Content Review last year, which stated the broadcasters weren’t doing enough to provide for younger audiences.

Pubcaster the BBC was outside the scope of the review because Ofcom already examines how it caters for children as part of its responsibilities under the BBC Charter and Agreement.

Bosses at ITV, C4 and C5 each wrote separate letters to Ofcom’s outgoing CEO Sharon White earlier this year detailing how they will improve their offer for young audiences.

Each broadcaster has also welcomed the UK government’s fledgling Young Audiences Content Fund, which is the first of its kind to specifically focus on television for young people under the age of 18.

“Attracting young viewers now, to create the audiences of the future, is in the PSBs’ long-term interests. Our research suggests that an important part of this is creating more original, UK-made programmes that children value,” Ofcom said.

“The commercial PSBs’ plans represent a positive and significant step, but PSBs will have to continue to innovate their approach to providing stimulating and entertaining content for children and teenagers in the coming years. We will monitor the implementation of these plans, as well as children’s evolving media use and attitudes.

“We will also factor in the effectiveness of the PSBs’ delivery as part of our upcoming PSB Review and ultimately, as part of the next PSB relicensing process. In addition, we will continue to look at the BBC’s performance in catering for children as part of our responsibilities under the BBC Charter and Agreement,” said Ofcom.

John McVay, chief executive of producers’ association Pact, said: “Pact is encouraged that Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV have committed to doing more to improve the provision of children’s content in the UK.

“This is a huge opportunity for broadcasters to provide a wider range of high-quality and original content for children in the UK. We will wait and see what the outcomes of these commitments are over time.”