The British communications regulator has warned that urgent steps must be taken to ensure that the United Kingdom’s public service media content is easy to find and discover on third-party platforms like YouTube, under new Ofcom recommendations, to secure the system’s survival through a proposed six-point strategy.

Public service media (PSM) has a long and proud tradition in the UK. It delivers duly impartial and trusted news and original programmes that reflect British culture and bring the country together, Ofcom said in a statement yesterday, noting that the system is now under serious threat, with audience choices wider than it’s ever been.

Pointing out that broadcasters are experiencing fundamental financial challenges and structural change in the advertising market and, in this environment, the regulator said public service broadcasters were finding it harder to fund the production and distribution of high-quality UK content to all audiences.

To help address the challenges facing PSM and support its future provisions, Ofcom yesterday said it has set out a six-point action plan. “Our recommendations would require a collective effort from PSBs (public service broadcasters), social media and video sharing platforms, the Government, and Ofcom,” the regulator explained.

The six-point action plan includes the following:

# Prominence and discoverability for PSM content on third-party platforms like YouTube.

# Stable and adequate funding to sustain a broad range of PSM content, including news and children’s.

# Urgent clarity on how TV will be distributed in the future.

# PSM firms must forge ambitious strategic partnerships at scale.

# Broadcasters and online platforms must invest in media literacy.

# Streamlined regulation to strip away any outdated and unnecessary restrictions.

In the explanatory note, Ofcom said that the UK media landscape is undergoing rapid transformation. Traditional broadcasters are in a fierce battle for audience attention, while global tech giants flood the market with an ever-growing range of content.

Services like Netflix and YouTube offer hyper-personalised experiences that are hugely popular with viewers and advertisers. In this environment, the PSBs are finding it much harder to fund the production and distribution of high-quality UK content to all audiences.

Public Service Media has a long and proud tradition in the UK. The PSBs — the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C — are the key providers of PSM. They are universally available and highly valued for trusted and accurate news and informative and entertaining UK stories that reflect the diversity of the whole of the UK, it added.

This critical content supports participation in democratic society through holding governments and institutions to account and keeping audiences informed about local, national and international events. The PSBs also provide sporting and cultural programming that brings the country together and promotes a sense of shared values.

Ofcom also pointed out that YouTube is the world’s most popular video site, watched by 43 percent of children aged 4-17 on a weekly basis. TV screens are also rapidly becoming more popular for watching YouTube content.

“Alongside our implementation of the Media Act, which provides critical support for PSM, we are launching a fundamental review of our regulation of broadcast TV and radio. We will seek input from stakeholders about the priority areas for reforming regulation and supporting the future provision of PSM content.

“We will look at what further reform is needed to ensure regulation supports all audiences benefitting from PSM content in the future and how we can ensure audiences are protected from harm wherever they are. This may involve legislative change as well as changes to our regulation,” Ofcom observed.