Ofcom decision a missed opportunity to support economic development across the whole of the UK

Responding to Ofcom’s decision on a new broadcast licence for Channel 4, Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said:

“While we welcome Ofcom’s requirement for Channel 4 to set out and report on commissioning strategies for each individual nation, its decision to stick to a 12% made outside of England quota from 2030 is incredibly disappointing.

“Like many others, we were keen to see Ofcom take a bolder, more ambitious approach to these quotas and bring the implementation date forward.

“Rejecting the many calls from across the industry to increase the quota is a missed opportunity to make clear that the regulator takes seriously its role in increasing commissioning from public service broadcasters that supports economic development and drives forward representation in programming across all of the UK’s nations and regions.”