BBC Chairman Samir Shah will launch a staunch defense of the UK’s public broadcasting system in his first major speech.In a talk at the Leeds Conservatoire tomorrow, Shah is expected to say: ““Action is needed now to future-proof public service broadcasters, otherwise our very British success story will be part of our halcyon past.”He will say “the fight is on” to protect and promote homegrown British programs from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, as he attempts to rally the UK’s media sector. “No other country has anything like this,” Shah will add. “Public service broadcasters lie at the heart of our social and cultural life, and they are worth fighting for.”Shah, who was named BBC Chairman late last year after a long career in the independent production space, will outline a three-step plan to secure the “very British success story” of the country’s PSB system. This will comprise.
- Securing long-term prominence of the PSBs by the Government and Ofcom enforcing elements of the the Media Act, passed earlier this year that ensure homegrown broadcasters are prioritized.
- Regulating “for growth” – ensuring that the regulatory regime is overhauled to allow “greater agility, flexibility, and pace” so the public broadcasting system “can reinvent itself for the future”.
- “Protecting the grassroots” – making sure the deep-pockets of the international streamers are investing in all levels of the UK creative industries.
Shah will claim the BBC spends around 20 times more than Netflix on skills and training. This equates to about £20M of its commissioning sound, compared to “less than 0.2% for Netflix.”-He is expected to add: “British public service broadcasters have, over the years, created something quite wonderful. We should work together as a sector to future-proof this precious asset and put it at the heart of the growth strategy that is key to the future prosperity of this country.“So I will work with my fellow public service broadcasters to press our legislators and regulators to take action on these fronts. To invert the cliché: let us act fast, so that we don’t repent at leisure.”
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