Former Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon has advocated for a combined public service broadcaster (PSB) streaming platform, suggesting it will create a stronger public service media in the UK.
Mahon joined TV producer Pat Younge and co-chair of the Creative Industries Council Peter Bazalgette in promoting the idea to the UK government’s cross-party culture media and sport committee yesterday (May 19) in a session about the future of the BBC.
Mahon was clear that it is the distribution mechanism that should be combined, rather than the broadcasters themselves, to preserve diversity of supply.
“Can you reach more people at less cost with more content if you combine distribution in a souped-up player? I very much believe you can get to more people,” she said, caveating that it would “take some time” to do.
“If we were to combine resources on distribution, that would be the answer for [reaching] audiences. We’d need to pay a lot of attention to how the organisations partner, but it would build a stronger [public service media].”
Mahon, who has recently talked up the importance of collaboration between the PSBs, also pointed out that individual PSBs currently pay to make their apps and services tech-ready on different platforms, such as on different mobile models and that combining distribution could save those costs as well.
Younge backed the notion that broadcasters should remain distinct, but that a move to combine distribution capabilities would also be beneficial.
“There are savings to be made if you can consolidate the backends and platforms. You can extend the reach and that means ultimately more money for programmes,” he said.
Bazalgette said he would like to see iPlayer extended to create a “national champion streaming service”, capable of competing with the streamers in commissioning and acquisition power as well as branding.
“The bigger the branding of the streaming service the more it can successfully promulgate the public service programmes which we all believe in,” he said.
He suggested PSB consolidation would help the broadcasters compete with American streamers.
“If we want to have healthy public service broadcasting, we need to see more consolidation amongst our public service media,” he said.
The group agreed that a combined PSB streamer is no different to the scrapped Project Kangaroo plan, which was blocked by the competition regulator in 2009.
“If Project Kangaroo had happened it would be a world-beating, dominant product with billions of pounds to commission many dramas [costing multimillion pounds per hour]. It was the most massively wasted opportunity,” said Bazalgette.
PSBs including the BBC and ITV are calling for government and Ofcom intervention to ensure their content becomes more easily discoverable on major platforms including YouTube.
Mahon stepped down from the Channel 4 top job last year, with Priya Dogra taking over in March of this year. Mahon is now chief executive of Superstruct Entertainment, the live entertainment and music festival group.
A version of this story first appeared on Screen’s sister site, Broadcast.
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