Local Channels Must Compete with Global Streaming

Local channels must find a way to effectively deal with the threat of online streaming services, head of Ofcom, Rhodri Williams, said.

13:31 03 April 2018

Rhodri Williams, head of Ofcom, said that unless drastic measures are taken soon, the growth of on-demand services, such as Netflix, will lead to the significant reduction in the production of local content aimed specifically at Welsh audiences. He said that public service broadcasters need to put greater resources into distributing their content on new platforms in order to compete.

 

He said: "Any attempt to continue to produce content that is aimed at a geographically-specific audience is under threat.

 

"These global players are not interested in producing content for small countries anywhere in the world, they want to produce content that is accessible anywhere that anyone will enjoy and see.

 

"And obviously it is going to be in English."

 

He added that budgetary restrictions pose real threat to the way PSBs are financed.

 

He said: "There is a threat to the funding model because not only do the public service broadcasters we have in Wales have to continue to make compelling content that people want to watch, but they have to make it available in a way that consumers want to watch.

 

"So they have to change the way they distribute their content, they have to spend more money on distribution than they did in the past, which is money that comes out of content creation.

 

"So that threat to the business model is a very real one."