The bosses of the UK’s public service broadcasters have all eschewed the idea that they would be better off if they merged to compete with the likes of Netflix and YouTube.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, the heads of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Paramount (owner of Channel 5) said that consolidation would harm the UK television industry, reducing choice for viewers and the number of content buyers in the market.
Their comments come after the UK government said it wants to make it easier for legacy broadcasters to consolidate and partner up. Ministers have tasked the Competition & Markets Authority and regulator Ofcom to compile a review that will “set out how changes in the sector – such as the convergence of broadcast, on-demand and video sharing – could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of television and advertising markets.”
BBC director general Tim Davie said “multiple buying points” were “really helpful” for the UK’s successful production sector. “I’m not sure that [consolidation] is good for the UK ecosystem,” Davie said, adding that he was uncertain whether he needs more “linear real estate.”
Sarah Rose, the outgoing UK regional lead of Paramount, said rivalry between British broadcasters was fundamental to the health of the industry. “We cater to audiences with a plurality of voices. If you go to a single buying point on a single channel … it would be much harder to defend the ecosystem that we are so keen to protect,” Rose said.
ITV CEO Carolyn McCall said mergers would involve a dramatic rethinking of business models, which would be difficult without significant government intervention. ITV is listed, the BBC is funded by the British public, Channel 4 is owned by the government, and Channel 5 is backed by a U.S. studio.
“When the government talks about consolidation in our industry, they don’t really mean, I don’t think, between PSBs [public service broadcasters], they mean collaboration,” McCall said. Jonathan Allan, interim CEO of Channel 4, added that “strong independent brands” matter.
The broadcasting chiefs did acknowledge that there were opportunities to partner, including potentially pooling advertising sales houses and sharing technology. Davie said the BBC would consider opening up iPlayer on the right terms for the streaming service that launched in the same year as Netflix.
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