New international output on the PSB channels has been substantially decreased in the increasingly fragmented market, according to the International Broadcasting Trust (IBT), a media and education charity concerned with the engagement of UK citizens as global citizens. Alongside with the reduction of volume, IBT observes that the nature of international coverage has changed, with serious factual programmes being replaced by softer factual entertainment genres. Public service television, IBT argues ‘should be a platform for a range of voices and opinions which reflects the population of the UK and the wider world. This requirement should be reinforced by legislation.’ Read IBT’s submission in full here.

Confirmed speakers:

Sir Lenny Henry (Actor, Writer and TV Presenter)

Bev Skeggs (Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London)

Dawn Foster (Writer on politics, social affairs and economics for The Guardian, London Review of Books, Independent and Times Literary Supplement)

Dr Rupa Huq (MP for Ealing Central and Acton)

Chaired by Pat Younge (MD of Sugar Films; former BBC Chief Creative Officer)

The event is free but registration is required. Register here for the event.

Please email your questions in advance to Vana Goblot – v.goblot@gold.ac.uk

According to Jean K. Chalaby (City University, London), ‘the global interdependence of contemporary industrial networks must be at the forefront of broadcasting policy, for the PSBs and for all the suppliers along the content chain’. Chalaby identifies the most pressing issues facing UK producers as being related to how they can build up on TV formats’ global success; how they can retain creativity and innovation in UK production, but also, whether TV producers and broadcasters should compete with global aggregators such as Netflix and YouTube. Read Chalaby’s submission in full here.

According to Angela Phillips (Goldsmiths, University of London), competition for higher quality is a public good that is absent in discussions about the future of Channel Four. A strong BBC is essential to upholding high quality of public service provision, Phillips argues: ‘if the BBC is allowed to wither any further, there is no reason to assume that it will be able to uphold the standards the public expects of it’. Read Angela Phillips’s submission in full here.

Some of the key threats to the future of high quality public service television in the UK, according to Voice of the Listener and Viewer (VLV), are in underestimating ‘the value and impact of public service broadcasting’s contribution to diversity, democracy, education, culture and citizenship in a market where success is too often measured on the basis of a commercial model which focuses on profit and market share.’ Read VLV’s submission in full here