NEWS: Streaming giants face UK regulation by Ofcom

The whole thing is a mess. People have been turning to the likes of Netflix because of what it offers. UK PSB will never be able to compete, so trying to regulate two entirely different services seems pointless to me.

The whole idea of forcing TV companies to list the UK streaming apps. first is an utter nonsense. Forcing them to the head of the queue won't prompt people to use them if they don't have the content that people want to view.

Services like Netflix offer both breadth and depth to their service. There's plenty of different genres for people to watch, but it also offers a decent selection of foreign language material.

Ofcom getting involved looks like an attempt to dumb-down the competition so that it matches the mediocre UK offerings. It should be the other way round. UK Broadcasting PLC needs to up its game. The intervention is unnecessary.

As for the sale of C4, I think that it's a good thing. The left-leaning yoof-focussed entity needs a wake-up call. It needs to cater for all age groups, not just a narrow range.
 
It seems that when goverments look to regulate or interfere in the industry it only ever ends up being detrimental to the consumer of that product .

Content and choice is king for the consumer and why we choose where to watch.The BBC for example has neither or, poor content for the consumer and a forced subscription model should not get preferential treatment because we now have an abundance of choice of other cheaper payed subscription services with content to match one's viewing habits .

But goverments do like to butt in on our viewing habits , the EU for example at the expense of the consumer .
.
 
Last edited:
The EU intervention over UK stuff being aired across Europe is just spite. It’s starting to realise that the UK, now free of its clutches, is starting to do well, and it can’t stomach that fact. No, far better to deprive millions of viewers to shows that they’ve come to trust and value.
 
There can be no doubt that the government seeing the way television is being consumed away from the more traditional broadcast model to the streaming platforms will want to regulate these companies and tell them how to run their business. Will this be done to the benefit of the customer watching it on whatever device that they choose, not a chance they are only interested in looking after themselves
 
No 18+ content before 9pm :rotfl:
 
The EU intervention over UK stuff being aired across Europe is just spite. It’s starting to realise that the UK, now free of its clutches, is starting to do well, and it can’t stomach that fact. No, far better to deprive millions of viewers to shows that they’ve come to trust and value.
Delusional!

Its an inevitable result of THE "UK" leaving the EU. Should we be telling America to air UK stuff, are they spiteful?
 
Ofcom should start with these:

1. Defunding the BBC.
2. Banning This Morning from ITV :laugh:
 
Services like Netflix offer both breadth and depth to their service. There's plenty of different genres for people to watch, but it also offers a decent selection of foreign language material.

I’m not convinced that’s true. There’s no live TV on Netflix that I’m aware of (e.g., no Glastonbury), no sport, no news, very little arts coverage, just a sprinkling of science programmes and documentaries. Furthermore, the film selection is a seemingly random selection and isn’t noticeably better than what’s available on Freeview.

I’m a bit mystified by the enthusiasm for Netflix. Once you’ve filtered out the terrible, the stuff that’s available elsewhere, etc., that which remains is a pretty modest selection of decent content.
 
I’m a bit mystified by the enthusiasm for Netflix. Once you’ve filtered out the terrible, the stuff that’s available elsewhere, etc., that which remains is a pretty modest selection of decent content.
My goodness have you scrolled through any EPG lately, the dross on offer is mind numbing to say the least. Call me cynical but it is was probably the BBC who instigated this review knowing their end is probably nigh and want to drag other broadcasters down to their level, our competitors may transmit crap but ours is better crap!!!!!!!!.
 
My goodness have you scrolled through any EPG lately, the dross on offer is mind numbing to say the least. Call me cynical but it is was probably the BBC who instigated this review knowing their end is probably nigh and want to drag other broadcasters down to their level, our competitors may transmit crap but ours is better crap!!!!!!!!.

And I find it quite hard to find stuff on Netflix that appeals. (For every good series or film on Netflix, there are many more duds.)

In a sense, it may not matter because Netflix’s business model may not even be sustainable.
 
The whole thing is a mess. People have been turning to the likes of Netflix because of what it offers. UK PSB will never be able to compete, so trying to regulate two entirely different services seems pointless to me.

The whole idea of forcing TV companies to list the UK streaming apps. first is an utter nonsense. Forcing them to the head of the queue won't prompt people to use them if they don't have the content that people want to view.

Services like Netflix offer both breadth and depth to their service. There's plenty of different genres for people to watch, but it also offers a decent selection of foreign language material.

Ofcom getting involved looks like an attempt to dumb-down the competition so that it matches the mediocre UK offerings. It should be the other way round. UK Broadcasting PLC needs to up its game. The intervention is unnecessary.

As for the sale of C4, I think that it's a good thing. The left-leaning yoof-focussed entity needs a wake-up call. It needs to cater for all age groups, not just a narrow range.


Funnily enough, before the behemoth that was Netflix existed in its current guise as a streaming platform, the BBC wanted to launch a Netflix style platform in conjunction with ITV and C4, and the project (known as Project Kangaroo) was eventually quashed by the very myopic UK Competition Commission.

To quote the ruling:
"After detailed and careful consideration, we have decided that this joint venture would be too much of a threat to competition in this developing market and has to be stopped".
 
It's odd that regulation is aimed at services where one can choose to subscribe or not depending on ones needs, viewing habits at that time . Yet a forced upon us licence of a service subscription gets a free pass and protection because of its own lack of foresight .
 
It's odd that regulation is aimed at services where one can choose to subscribe or not depending on ones needs, viewing habits at that time . Yet a forced upon us licence of a service subscription gets a free pass and protection because of its own lack of foresight .


And yet said service had the foresight to do what Netflix has done before Netflix, and was banned from doing so by the UK regulators. I'd say lack of foresight from the UK regulators rather than anyone else.
 
I really don't get the hatred for the BBC, right now I'm watching England v Sri Lanka, no adverts after every ball, (Sky, BT Sport, every other commercial channel) to not be bombarded by adverts is worth the license fee on its own, commercial tv is quite frankly unwatchable.
 
It's not hatred, but there has to be a balance. Because of the wall-to-wall sport on BBC1 and BBC2 at present, those licence payers who prefer not to watch it have very little choice. That's not balanced at all, to my mind. Why not use the BBC News channel to air some of the sport in conjunction with iPlayer? With ITV covering sport too, and sport on C4 too there's not much else, so it seems a bit rich for UK TV PLC to expect preferential treatment without giving viewers choice.
 
It's not hatred, but there has to be a balance. Because of the wall-to-wall sport on BBC1 and BBC2 at present, those licence payers who prefer not to watch it have very little choice. That's not balanced at all, to my mind. Why not use the BBC News channel to air some of the sport in conjunction with iPlayer? With ITV covering sport too, and sport on C4 too there's not much else, so it seems a bit rich for UK TV PLC to expect preferential treatment without giving viewers choice.
They do seem to double up on similar types of programs last night two political programs on BBC1 and 2 at the same time and tonight 2 films pitched against each other and yet during the week no films.
 
Yup. After the Prince Philip debacle, you’d like to think that they got the message, especially given the volume of complaints. But no, clearly not. Rather than listen to licence payers concerns, they closed their website to stop people complaining when HRH died. I’ve complained in the past when both BBC1 and 2 show wall to wall sport, and have been similarly brushed off. The corporation doesn’t listen and is only interested in giving us what it thinks that we want. After all, the BBC can never be wrong, can it?
 
Ofcom should start with these:

1. Defunding the BBC.
2. Banning This Morning from ITV :laugh:
Bbc is uks pravda, so 1. wont ever happen

Uk GOV, be it labour or the tories, needs the bbc to push messages out, sometimes subliminaly, which bbc obligingly does. ( i dont mean blipverts by that, i mean under the radar indirect messaging)
 
I’m not convinced that’s true. There’s no live TV on Netflix that I’m aware of (e.g., no Glastonbury), no sport, no news, very little arts coverage, just a sprinkling of science programmes and documentaries. Furthermore, the film selection is a seemingly random selection and isn’t noticeably better than what’s available on Freeview.

I’m a bit mystified by the enthusiasm for Netflix. Once you’ve filtered out the terrible, the stuff that’s available elsewhere, etc., that which remains is a pretty modest selection of decent content.
No Glastonbury....that alone would make me set up a Netflix account
 
I really don't get the hatred for the BBC, right now I'm watching England v Sri Lanka, no adverts after every ball, (Sky, BT Sport, every other commercial channel) to not be bombarded by adverts is worth the license fee on its own, commercial tv is quite frankly unwatchable.
i disagree, i don't get the option of not paying for a service i don't used, there is nothing the BBC offers me that would want me to pay to view it.
 
The corporation doesn’t listen and is only interested in giving us what it thinks that we want. After all, the BBC can never be wrong, can it?
Once of a day they would and take listeners/views concerns onboard but now its seems as though the got the attitude stuff you we know what were doing everything right.
One thing I do like no interruptions in there showing films and no logo, apart from Frasier their films are the only stuff I watch on the other HD channels, usually the better stuff hidden on the crappy SD quality channels.
 
BBC4 is logo-infested, as will, I'm certain, BBC3 when it finally resurfaces.
 
BBC4 is logo-infested, as will, I'm certain, BBC3 when it finally resurfaces.
Dont know why when they show BBC III on BBC 1 it still has that massive pink logo probably the biggest logo I seen.

Oh and them not listening, complaints were made about the time spent with pundits round a match and even football taking over the news. Today lunchtime news started about football and did not get round to news, news only a few seconds off 19 minutes than ended up with an other 2 min at the end making 21 minutes of news program a sports program.

Oh and having a new BBC logo which I though they got past that after they changed it from italics to just plain bold I wonder how much they pay these companies to come up with these minor alterations.
 
i disagree, i don't get the option of not paying for a service i don't used, there is nothing the BBC offers me that would want me to pay to view it.
Taken from Tv Licencing Page

When don’t I need a licence to watch TV?​

You don’t need a TV Licence if you never watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel, or live on an online TV service, and you never download or watch BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

This applies to any provider or device you use, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorder.

You do have the option to not pay for a tv licence.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom