Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Media Bill

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Legislative scrutiny
Opened: 19 Apr 2023 Closed: 5 Feb 2024 Parliament page
The DCMS Committee is inviting views on a draft Bill aimed at modernising broadcasting legislation to help public service broadcasters meet the challenges created by the growth of on-demand services and new technology. The Government’s draft Media Bill , published last month, would broaden how broadcasters can meet their public … Read more
30 Recommendations
5 Conclusions
2 Reports
4 Oral sessions
1 Letter
4 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
21 Nov
2023
Correspondence
17 Nov
2023
Report published
22 Sep
2023
Report published
21 Jul
2023
Report published
4 Jul
2023
Oral evidence
4 Jul
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
27 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
27 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
20 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
20 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
6 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
6 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
4 Jul 2023
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Colin Browne · Voice of the Listener and Viewer Kate Biggs · Ofcom Kate Davies · Ofcom Robert Specterman-Green · Department for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
27 Jun 2023
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Alistair Law · Sky Anna Hatfield · Amazon Benjamin King · Netflix Lewis Walmesley-Browne · techUK Richard Stern · TuneIn Rosie Johnston-Luff · Google
20 Jun 2023
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Clare Sumner CBE · BBC Elin Morris · S4C John Morrison · MG Alba Martin Steers · UK Community Radio Network Matt Payton · Radiocentre Paul Oldfield · BBC
6 Jun 2023
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Khalid Hayat · Channel 4 Magnus Brooke · ITV Mitchell Simmons · Paramount
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bill: Final Report HC 1807 22 Sep 2023 21
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill: Radio Measures HC 1287 21 Jul 2023 14 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
35 results
1 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Provide Ofcom with clearer guidance on enforcing local radio's news obligations.
Local news and information is what makes many people turn to local radio and we agree that the Government should prioritise this area. However, we are concerned that Ofcom regards its responsibilities as unclear, especially given that the Government committed … Read more
Government Response
The government made technical changes to the Bill and updated Explanatory Notes to clarify local news obligations on the face of the Bill, but decided not to publish further separate guidance at this stage.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Amend proposed power to regulate localness requirements to require Ofcom consultation.
DCMS says that its intention is to use the power to make regulations regarding digital radio stations’ localness requirements only in consultation with Ofcom and other stakeholders. We cannot envisage a scenario in which it would be necessary for the … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and has already amended the Bill to require consultation with Ofcom when making regulations regarding localness requirements.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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3 Recommendation Rejected
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Specify in the Bill which Acts of Parliament are subject to this power.
The Government has demonstrated a necessity for the power to regulate for localness requirements to be so broad as to include amendment of any Act of Parliament. This power should be restricted to specified Acts in line with similar provisions … Read more
Government Response
The government amended the Bill to clarify that the power to amend other legislation must be consequential, but rejected specifying Acts of Parliament, citing unhelpful inflexibility and the infeasibility of listing all potential amendments.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4 Recommendation Acknowledged
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Include Media Bill with radio provisions in next parliamentary legislative programme.
The radio industry has legitimate concerns about the potential for larger platforms to control access to stations and drive audiences elsewhere. While listening to radio still makes up the majority of audio consumed over smart speakers, and smart speakers only … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the Committee's view and agrees on the importance of supporting UK radio and updating the regulatory framework through the Media Bill's provisions. However, the response does not explicitly commit to including the Bill in the legislative programme for the next parliamentary session, which was the specific ask.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Urgently pursue technical engagement with stakeholders and provide progress update.
The radio industry and platforms raised legitimate concerns about the extent to which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has examined the implications of the legislation. That the Department did not publish a full impact assessment for the radio … Read more
Government Response
The government asserts that it has extensively engaged with stakeholders on policy and technical details throughout the process, including making changes in response to concerns raised. Furthermore, it confirms that a full Regulatory Impact Assessment on Part 6 of the Bill has now been published and rated fit-for-purpose, directly addressing a key concern.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Proactively keep challenges of finding radio in in-car systems under close review.
The future risks to radio are not confined to voice-activated devices. Platforms can make it very hard for car drivers to find radio, simply by self-preferencing their own or others’ content and leaving listeners to swipe through later pages to … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and committed to proactively keep the issue of in-car infotainment systems and their impact on radio access under review.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Redraft power to amend radio selection service definition, requiring Ofcom consultation.
The Secretary of State’s power to amend the definition of a radio selection service is crucial for the future-proofing of the regulatory scheme, including for in-car systems as well as for new and emerging technologies. While we welcome Ofcom’s horizon-scanning … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and has already amended the Bill to require the Secretary of State to consult Ofcom before amending the definition of a radio selection service.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Amend Bill to enable Ofcom to de-designate legacy devices from provisions.
There is broad agreement between platforms and broadcasters on the need for provision in the Bill to ensure legacy devices can be exempted from requirements on radio selection services. We believe that allowing Ofcom to exempt some previously- designated devices … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to include a specific process for radio selection services (RSS) to apply for de-designation of legacy devices.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Government prefers Ofcom to define "significant" users for radio selection services.
We acknowledge the Government’s preference to avoid putting in primary legislation a number specifying what a “significant” number of users is and what “used by” means. In order to adapt to reflect changes in technology and audience habits, we believe … Read more
Government Response
The Government welcomes the Committee’s feedback and recognises that there may be situations where de-designation of a service is required, and the Bill has been amended to include a specific process for an RSS to apply for de-designation.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Mandate affirmative procedure for regulations designating radio selection services in Media Bill.
We disagree with the Government’s conclusion that the negative resolution procedure is appropriate for regulations designating a radio selection service or amending its definition. The Bill does not require the Secretary of State to accept Ofcom’s recommendations and allows her … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for affirmative procedure, stating that the Bill no longer designates via description, and that specific designation is a largely administrative step where the framework is set by Parliament and Ofcom provides advice.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Require statutory consultation with Ofcom and industry before designating radio selection services.
The Department told us that it intended to consult Ofcom and other stakeholders before changing the statutory conditions for designating a radio selection service but this does not appear in the Bill. If the Government intends to carry out consultation … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to make consultation with Ofcom and industry stakeholders a statutory requirement before the Secretary of State makes secondary legislation on radio selection services.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12 Recommendation Rejected
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Amend Bill to include on-demand and online content from Ofcom-regulated broadcasters.
The Government’s approach to on-demand and online-only content appears at odds with market trends. Listeners are increasingly choosing to access content on- demand or listen to online-only stations and there is merit in including these forms of content provision within … Read more
Government Response
The government rejected the recommendation, stating it does not agree there is a policy case for intervention at this stage, as the current measures are targeted and proportionate given live radio is still the main consumption method.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Include explicit power to amend internet radio service definition, requiring Ofcom report and affirmative procedure.
We recommend that the Bill include an explicit power to amend the definition of an internet radio service. This would enable the current definition, which specifies that only stations providing online live simulcasts of their broadcast radio service and which … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation and amended the Bill to include an explicit power to amend the definition of an internet radio service, requiring a report from Ofcom and affirmative parliamentary procedure, as recommended.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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14 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Twelfth Report - Draft Media Bill:…
Require Ofcom to consider resource implications when recommending radio service designation thresholds.
The absence of a full impact assessment of the radio provisions makes it difficult to ascertain how burdensome the preferred route provisions will be. However, the evidence we heard suggests that there will be far fewer routes required than platforms … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepted the recommendation, stating it does not anticipate disproportionate burden but has amended the Bill to require that a station’s request for a particular route must be reasonable, providing additional assurances to platforms.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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1 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Retain obligations on Public Service Broadcasters to provide specific genres of content.
The Government is seeking to simplify the public service remit; however, removing the requirement to provide specific genres of content goes beyond mere simplification. The removal of origination quotas for UK children’s content for commercial Public Service Broadcasters led to … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Restrict Secretary of State’s power to specify content categories to Ofcom recommendations only.
We are concerned that the “backstop” power, enabling the Secretary of State to specify new categories of audiovisual content should the Secretary of State consider that they are being underserved, creates the perception that media regulation is no longer independent … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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3 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Require Ofcom to use internet access data for assessing linear content accessibility.
Allowing Public Service Broadcasters to use a wider range of services to contribute towards their remit, including on-demand, should not come at the expense of linear broadcast audiences. It is imperative that broadcasters make their content as accessible as possible … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4 Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
BBC's Digital First strategy negatively impacts linear TV and local radio audiences.
Our conclusions about the impact the Media Bill could have on audiences are part of a wider context of change in the broadcasting industry. We continue to be concerned about the impact of the BBC’s Digital First strategy on linear … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Amend Media Bill to allow Secretary of State to vary 30-day on-demand content requirement.
We agree that there should be a minimum length of time for which material has to be available on-demand so that people can watch it at a convenient time. However, Public Service Broadcasters raise legitimate concerns about whether 30 days … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Lower the intervention threshold for Ofcom to protect public service broadcasters' remit.
The increased flexibility of the public service remit should be accompanied by a lower threshold for Ofcom to intervene if it considers that a Public Service Broadcaster is failing to meet its remit. The current bar of “serious” is too … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Amend Media Bill to prevent unregulated streaming services from paywalling listed events.
We welcome the draft Bill limiting the Listed Events regime to Public Service Broadcasters. These events are important sporting occasions with immense cultural and social impact and the regime is critical to the UK’s sporting and media landscape. However, it … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Include provisions in the Bill to incorporate digital rights into the Listed Events regime.
Digital rights should be included as part of the Listed Events regime to reflect sweeping changes in how audiences consume content since the original legislation was passed. We recommend that the Government includes provisions in the Bill to enable digital … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Change the prominence descriptor from "appropriate" to "significant" for public service content.
User interfaces on connected devices are very different to Electronic Programming Guides. The breadth of ways in which user interfaces can be designed means that what prominence looks like will vary considerably from device to device. What matters is ensuring … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Allow Ofcom to de-designate legacy devices from prominence provisions based on public usage.
It is in the interests of both Public Service Broadcasters and platforms that the Media Bill enables legacy devices to be exempted from requirements, given the technical hurdles involved. However, it is important that any exemption is not exploited. Allowing … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Use affirmative procedure for Secretary of State designation of regulated television selection services.
Only those television selection services which are deemed to be used by a significant number of viewers in the UK to access TV content online will be regulated. While the Secretary of State may only designate these services or specify … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Examine principles of successful carriage deals to improve drafting of agreement objectives in legislation.
The agreement objectives are fundamental to the must offer-must carry regime. Any ambiguity in their drafting is likely to lead to either or both broadcasters and platforms resorting far more frequently than anticipated to the dispute mechanism process. While Ofcom … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Review sustainability duty wording to ensure compatibility with Channel 4's existing obligations.
The sustainability duty reinforces what the Channel 4 Corporation is already doing. As such, the wording should reflect their primary functions and existing statutory duties to avoid there being any unintended consequences such as a conflict with their existing obligations. … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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14 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Publish policy statement detailing mitigations for harm to production sector from Channel 4 model changes.
It is hard to quantify the full impact of the removal of Channel 4’s publisher- broadcaster model in the absence of an impact assessment, but the removal is a fundamental change to its status. Allowing Channel 4 to produce and … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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15 Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Regional prominence for S4C and STV is supported and technically feasible for platforms.
Giving regional prominence to both S4C and STV goes to the heart of what the Government is trying to achieve with this Bill: to ensure public service broadcasting is not only available on platforms but easy to find. Given the … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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16 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Apply the Video-on-Demand Code consistently to all Video-on-Demand services, not just the largest.
The Government has said that it wants audiences to be confident that all content, however they consume it, is subject to the same regulation. Requiring only the largest Video-on-Demand providers to abide by the new Code does not achieve that … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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17 Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Acknowledge concerns about applying Broadcasting Code impartiality rules to Video-on-Demand services.
We recognise concerns that there are elements of the Broadcasting Code which do not translate well to a Video-on-Demand context, particularly how the due impartiality obligations will be managed in a non-linear environment. However, Ofcom is required to consult Tier … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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18 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Monitor and resource Ofcom to manage potential increased international complaints under the fairness and privacy code.
As the fairness and privacy code will enable complaints coming from outside the UK, this could have significant resource implications for Ofcom. It is not possible to gauge in advance the likelihood of this happening, but should it become onerous … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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19 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Require Government to lay proposed Tier 1 designated services before Parliament for prior scrutiny.
The Government’s approach to the scrutiny of the Secretary of State’s power to designate Tier 1 services is confused. Putting information into the public domain at the same time as legislating is not a substitute for parliamentary scrutiny of increased … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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20 Conclusion
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Recognise repeal of Section 40 while stressing continued vigilance over press standards and accountability.
We note the conclusion of the Government’s review of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act and its decision that it should be repealed. However, there can be no room for complacency regarding press standards. We will continue to … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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21 Recommendation
Thirteenth Report - Draft Media Bi…
Prioritise the Media Bill for urgent passage in the upcoming fourth parliamentary session.
We consider that the Bill balances the needs of audiences, platforms and broadcasters. We support the introduction of the Bill, subject to the Government reflecting on the recommendations in this report. We recommend that the Government prioritise the Media Bill … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Government Response AI assessment · 14 of 30 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 2
Rejected 3
Total 30 recs + 5 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
21 Nov 2023 To committee Letter from Kate Biggs, Director of Public Policy, Ofcom, relating to Ofcom’s response to the Committee’s Draft Media Bill Reports, dated 15 November 2023
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