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      The UK’s Public Service Media (PSM) outlets are under unprecedented pressure. Here’s how governments, media leaders and private sector players can help our PSMs by choosing clarity and courage over drift and decline.

      The past two decades have seen the UK’s media landscape turned upside down. Up to the 2010s, the market was largely dominated by the UK’s PSMs – BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Then came the subscription VOD leaders, video-led social media platforms and FAST channels sitting alongside satellite and cable operators. Suddenly the UK has become one of the most crowded content markets in the world.

      You’ve probably noticed this yourself. If you’re now watching more social media videos and less traditional TV, you’re not alone. Since 2014, traditional viewing has sagged by 35 percent [1]. Most 16–24-year-olds in the UK now spend more than two hours per day on various streaming and social video sites – versus just 31 minutes per day on broadcast media [2]. And that level of audience fragmentation is putting unprecedented pressure on the PSMs.

      Against this backdrop, it’s tempting to write PSMs off as yesterday’s media. But that massively underplays the vital importance that PSMs play in the UK society and economy.

      Pukar Mehta
      Pukar Mehta

      Partner & Head of Media Strategy

      KPMG in the UK

      jonathan-chowis
      Jonathan Chowis

      Manager - Deal Advisory

      KPMG in the UK

      Why we need our PSMs

      PSMs do things that commercial players won’t. They encourage accountability, democratic participation and local journalism. They tell the stories that matter in people’s everyday lives - from local communities to national moments. They tackle crunchy social issues and promote educational outcomes. And they collectively invest more than £2.8 billion per year in original UK content [2], making them a critical pillar of the UK’s creative industries.

      The big question, therefore, is not whether PSMs should exist — their value is clear — but rather how they can thrive in a world defined by global platforms, algorithmic discovery and fragmented audiences, while staying true to their mission to inform, educate and entertain.

      Seven strategic questions for PSM success

      If the UK is to retain and nurture its PSMs, then government, media leaders and private sector players urgently need to assess and address a number of strategic questions now facing the UK’s public service media organisations.

      • Who are the priority audiences — and what services should reach them?

        Serving “everyone” in the same way on all platforms all the time is increasingly unrealistic. Clear choices on target audience groups for each PSM will guide platform strategy, commissioning, marketing and revenue models.

      • What organisational structure is needed?

        PSMs may need more fundamental organisational redesign to become truly digital first, agile and innovative – this will be critical for successfully competing in an ever more crowded media landscape.

      • What requirements — and benefits — should PSM licences include?

        To remain effective, both the obligations placed on PSMs and the benefits designed to support them must be modernised for today’s digital environment.

      • What should the terms of trade be?

        Streamers and cable channels are not bound by the same terms, allowing them to secure IP and monetise rights much more aggressively than PSMs. A level playing field, wherever that sits on the spectrum, would enable PSMs to improve competitiveness.

      • Where is collaboration appropriate?

        Although PSMs may wish to maintain their own distinctive content strategies, there is significant scope for shared investment in areas such as technology, VOD infrastructure, data and innovation — where joint initiatives could speed up development and help reduce costs.

      • What contribution should global platforms make?

        In France, streamers are required to reinvest a proportion of their local revenues into domestic production. The UK could consider adopting similar models to reinvest such amounts into news, local programming or educational content directly or through the PSMs to help strengthen the UK’s creative ecosystem and meet wider cultural needs.

      • What should the future funding model look like?

        The UK needs a model that is stable, independent, aligned with modern viewing behaviours, capable of supporting the civic outcomes only PSMs deliver and devised in a way that examines the unintended consequences across the PSM landscape. Politics will ultimately determine the mechanism, but the strategic requirements are already clear.

      Let’s reframe the conversation

      At KPMG, we work closely with PSMs and their stakeholders (both in the UK and around the world) to help reinvigorate their strategies and support their growth objectives. Our focus is on helping our clients answer these questions and then develop and execute practical plans to deliver on their ambition.

      Based on our deep experience, we believe that the conversation around public service media must be reframed – not as a legacy system in need of protection, but rather as essential civic infrastructure that must evolve to make tomorrow’s media fit for a digital and AI enabled society.

      A new framework will be required to enable the UK’s PSMs to sustainably deliver their unique outcomes in a radically different environment. And as with any significant infrastructure transformation, transitional support will be required to bridge from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow.

      That will require action from not only the government, but also from PSM leaders and private sector participants. Reimagining the UK’s PSM environment will need to be a collaborative effort. Because if we allow our PSMs to weaken, we risk losing trust, shared identity and a cornerstone of our creative economy.

      But that future is not inevitable. The UK faces an unprecedented opportunity to choose ambition over drift and to back our public service media with the clarity and courage the times demand. Our society deserves nothing less.

      To learn more about how we can help your organisation with its unique challenges, get in touch to start a conversation.

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