Civil servants have warned the culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, that ITV could choose to give up its status as a public broadcaster unless the legislation is passed as a matter of urgency. Failure to act means the government risks the future position of a channel “which invests significantly in content production and skills across the UK”, according to a civil service briefing seen by the Guardian. He said the issue was “particularly urgent” for the British media industry. The UK’s public broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C – have special obligations to make certain types of programming for the public good, rather than simply chasing viewers by flooding their schedules with more popular shows. In return, broadcasters benefit from prominent channel positions on TV sets, which traditionally meant people were more likely to tune in. they are eaten away by the value of this “countryside” benefit. Many viewers simply skip live TV altogether, but the channels still have the same expensive obligations. The government has drawn up legislation to tackle this, which would require TV manufacturers to prominently promote public service broadcasters if they want to sell their sets in the UK. But the required law – which was overwhelmingly welcomed by the UK media industry – has been delayed after being combined with controversial plans to privatize Channel 4. The civil servant briefing outlined the challenges Donelan faces after taking over the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from Nadine Dorries: “Without clarity on the new regime, ITV argues that over the next license period (10 years ) find it difficult to envisage a commercially viable way for PSBs to remain [public service broadcaster].” “There is therefore a real risk that ITV will not apply to retain its PSB license and the UK will lose a PSB that invests significantly in content production and skills across the UK.” Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell highlighted delays in many of the government’s policies, including reforms to the gambling system and the ongoing debate over whether to privatize Channel 4. She told the House of Commons last week that it was “a bit like taking an Avanti train”. “As with trains, delays cost businesses. Take the media bill: there is now a real risk to the very future of our public service broadcasters without it,” he said. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. ITV declined to comment. The broadcaster has repeatedly made clear that it wants to retain its public service status but needs reforms to make the compromise more useful. It recently made a significant investment in news coverage. Plans to privatize Channel 4 – a key policy of Boris Johnson’s government – are believed to have been abandoned after stiff resistance from the British TV industry. Although this is yet to be officially confirmed, the decision is expected to be announced very soon. Strong opposition from some Conservative MPs has contributed to the belief that the sale of Channel 4 is not a fight the government needs, given the economic challenges facing the country. A government spokesman said: “As we have said in the past, there is a need to update the UK’s broadcasting regulations to help our public broadcasters compete and have a successful future in the digital age. We are committed to bringing forward a media bill which will help the public to more easily access and enjoy quality British content.”
