Update on implementing the Media Act

21 Aug 2024 11:44 AM

The Media Act is designed to protect public service broadcasting while fostering innovation, so that UK audiences can enjoy the services, video and programming they love.

In May, the Media Act 2024 received Royal Assent and became law. This legislation is the biggest change to the public service media framework in two decades.

What does the Media Act mean for Ofcom?

The Act makes changes to Ofcom’s existing responsibilities as the UK’s regulator of broadcast media, – including:

• Updating the regulatory framework for commercial radio to secure important local content.
• Ensuring that the UK public service broadcasters (‘PSB’) can deliver obligations, such as quotas, wherever audiences expect them and not just on linear TV.
• Introducing new duties to secure prominence for PSB content and the accessibility of UK radio through voice assistants.

Earlier this year, as the Act was making its passage through Parliament, we set out our roadmap, which detailed how we will approach implementing these changes in a way that is fair, proportionate and effective.

Since publishing our roadmap, we have been working alongside industry and government to prepare for our new duties. This has included publishing a call for evidence about updating the listed events regime - the rules which ensure that coverage of certain major sporting events, like the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup, is widely available to audiences for free.

What’s next?

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has laid the first commencement regulation before the UK Parliament, bringing certain provisions into force on Friday 23rd August. These regulations are used to bring specific parts of an Act of Parliament legally into force on a specific date. This first commencement order will allow us to continue our implementation plans, including:

• Prepare for our new duties for video-on-demand services including reviewing their audience protection measures.
• Further develop our approach for new measures on how PSBs will show how they deliver to the updated and modernised public service remit across their services.
• Prepare for our new duties for voice-activated platforms, including determining the principles and methods we will apply in making a recommendation to the Secretary of State about which platforms are included.
• Continue to develop the processes for designating the services which will be in scope for the new rules to ensure online PSB services are both available on popular TV platforms and capable of being easily found and discovered by audiences.

We are continuing to work towards the timelines set out in our roadmap and will continue to rely on further commencement orders and secondary legislation being enacted.

We will soon launch a dedicated ‘Media Act Implementation Hub’ on the Ofcom website which will provide regular updates to keep stakeholders informed as we progress our work. This hub will also act as a home for the consultations and other publications we will be publishing in the coming months.