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“We mustn’t sleepwalk into the kind of crisis of quality that challenges some other public services and divides the nation into haves and have-nots.”
As a result, Britain spends more per head on television than equivalent economies, resulting in one of the most flourishing production industries in the world.
So it’s not surprising that broad- casting is the UK’s biggest investor in drama, performance and the arts. Its success is demonstrated by high quali- ty programmes across a range of gen- res, from EastEnders to Big Brother; from David Starkey’s Elizabeth to Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Othello.
Broadcasting also provides the main arena for national debate, through impartial news and a wide variety of other programmes, some made for spe- cially developed strands such as Channel 4’s War Without End? or the BBC’s The War Zone.
But broadcasting is now faced with fresh challenges from convergence and audience fragmentation, leading many to believe – with a sense of inevitability – that a competitive market will destroy the range and creativity older generations enjoyed. It will, they say, create commodity television; popular, good of its kind, but failing to offer real mental nourishment.
So now is the time to put content back centre-stage and to focus on the key aims of the White Paper. Pre-elec- tion aspirations must now become hard policy in a very different econom- ic climate, made even more difficult by recent events. UK television has several sources of revenue and will, I think, come through.
But our whole communications infrastructure is crucial to the function- ing of the wider economy and to our ability to cope with the downturn that was already apparent but made worse by the aftershocks of September 11.
In view of this, Britain must first set the standard for investment friendly regulation. We know that the costs of switching to digital have created a debt problem for individual firms, and we may see some consolidation.
But the switch is now largely made – for the broadcasters, if not all viewers – and digital TV, like the Internet, is a success. Broadband meanwhile faces a bigger challenge. Although businesses will pay for speed and more
capacity, so far we’ve seen no
‘killer application’ to drive con-
sumer take-up.
So we must be realistic about the market – broaden our definition of broadband and focus on the supply side. It will be content and services that grow broadband and, in the con- sumer market, these are likely to attach themselves first to digital TV, where there’s clear demand for a ser- vice which will soon reach half the population. So we should be focusing on investment in content, and not just infrastructure.
We should: Encourage the free flow of capital, with simpler ownership rules and, where possible, use competition rather than regulation to deliver the content customers want; Protect intel- lectual property rights, particularly for Independents; And ensure the public service broadcasters focus their spend on real quality and innovation.
The sector needs content for growth, and audiences want quality. This is a central theme of Culture and Communications: Perspectives on Broadcasting and the Information Society, the book published by the ITC in September. Our authors, while being pretty clear about the need for investment friendly policies and com- petition, also stress what we call “cul- tural citizenship.”
David Puttnam, Richard Eyre, and Paula Ridley argue for more ambition over what television and the Internet can offer in terms of performance, art, information, education – mental stimu- lation, in other words. “Television should be the arena,” says the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, “of our shared public conversation on who we are and what kind of world we want to hand on to future generations.” His thoughts have fresh resonance in the light of recent events.
Tim Gardam thinks these issues “go to the heart of the challenge to modern Government: Can a modern democracy in a global market econo- my”, he asks, “retain the necessary cohesion still to work as a civil soci- ety?” Part of the answer lies in the elec- tronic media, so there’s a public inter- est in what it purveys.
Sabrina Guinness believes the impact of new services and the growth of the sector make it the biggest
single influence on many young- sters – certainly bigger than schooling. Wilf Stevenson, Samir
Shah and Keith Khan worry about a failure to serve properly some of the very diverse communities in our soci- ety. Without a meaningful shared expe- rience, can that society work?
Their conclusion is not to give up, but to focus on the public interest as well as the market. We mustn’t sleep- walk into the kind of crisis of quality that challenges some other public ser- vices and divides the nation into haves and have-nots. We can and must make the most of a broadcasting market that’s flourishing and of public service within it, guaranteeing a certain range and quality available to all.
We can combine realistically demanding remits for public service broadcasters, with fresh offerings from new players in new ‘public spaces’ made possible by technology. Britain’s creative industries, not to mention audiences, depend on the programmes and related investment of the four main players. We want them to continue.
The BBC and Channel 4 – the most privileged providers and the best pro- tected against market pressures – need the strongest remits. ITV and Channel 5, the commercial PSBs, can give us investment commitments – including original production and output from and in the Nations and Regions – in return for the privileges that make them viable.
We must ensure that broadcasters focus their spend on real quality and innovation because, in our converging world, this will drive new networks and systems.
With the Lords discussing a Paving Bill to establish a structure to merge the existing regulators, and Parliamentary draftsmen polishing up the main Communications Bill, many in the nation, industry and government want to see content at the heart of the debate. Economic success, not to men- tion a decent society for our children, depends on it. ■
Culture and Communications: Perspectives on Broadcasting and the Information Society is available from the ITC Viewer Relations Unit (0845 601 3608 or publicaffairs@itc.org.uk)
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