More protection for video-on-demand viewers

Audiences could be better protected from harmful material like misinformation and pseudoscience while watching programmes on video-on-demand services.

The government is considering how to better level the regulatory playing field between mainstream video-on-demand services and traditional broadcasters and is seeking views on the matter in a consultation launched today. This could mean aligning the content standards rules for on-demand TV services with those for traditional linear TV like BBC 1 and Sky.

Now that the UK has left the EU there is an opportunity to create regulation suited to UK viewers that goes beyond the minimum standards as set out in EU regulation under the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said, “We want to give UK audiences peace of mind that however they watch TV in the digital age, the shows they enjoy are held to the same high standards that British broadcasting is world-renowned for.

“It is right that now we have left the EU, we look at introducing proportionate new rules so that UK audiences are protected from harm,” he added.

Ofcom data shows a huge growth in popularity and use of on-demand services in the UK. The number of households that subscribe to one rose by almost 350 per cent between 2014 and 2020. In 2021, 75 per cent of UK households say that they have used a subscription video-on-demand service.

Viewers have access to thousands of hours of video-on-demand shows and content at the touch of a button. However, services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are not regulated in the UK to the same extent as UK linear TV channels.

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