No easy answers

Lisa Campbell, Broadcast editor

• Increase image
• View all images

The BBC has some vague PSB ideas - but broadcasting needs proper solutions now.

The BBC kicked off the week with its contribution to Ofcom's PSB review, which was largely met with sighs and cynicism from within the industry.

While refusing to topslice the licence fee or divvy up BBC Worldwide, the BBC did promise to share its resources more widely, including providing BBC local news footage to other outlets; sharing expertise in digital production and allowing other broadcasters to exploit their brands through BBCW.

Most of these were sniffed at by rivals, who not only detected a patronising air coming from the corporation, but suggested that the proposals were either happening anyway or would have little impact.

There was also little detail to go on - although the BBC promises a more "tangible" set of proposals in the autumn - but how, for example, will sharing local news resources with ITV work? Regional news is an opportunity cost and a production cost for ITV which it is looking to claw back on. BBC facilities will still have to be paid for in nominal terms. Surely it doesn't plan to gift them to a commercial rival?

And as Kangaroo is demonstrating - where debate is now raging about which party gets to sell the advertising - getting into bed with your rivals can cause no end of strife.

Meanwhile, Pact's submission contains one proposal - reducing the holdback period for PSB content - that will irk some broadcasters. There is a valid argument to allow viewers access to the content they have paid for more quickly and on whatever platform they choose. Waiting up to two years is a nonsense and only encourages illegal downloads. Clearly there are also economic benefits for the indie community which will find new platforms more willing to do business with them if they can exploit content more quickly.

However, gaining agreement on the terms of trade was a long and torturous process as any subsequent attempt to liberalise the IP regime will be.

Pact's proposal to open up news provision to indies is also an interesting one. While there are clearly issues about quality and impartiality which would need regulating closely, indies could fill important gaps in local news provision and the move could be a significant catalyst for growth in out of London production.

This is a seminal moment in the future of broadcasting, so there's never going to be simple solutions. There is one area of agreement however: 2011 seems too late for all this to be resolved. Although Ofcom has already brought forward the date for a new PSB system by three years, the pace of change, the erosion of key genres such as regional news and childrens, ITV's struggles, C4's funding gap, mean everyone needs answers now, before the damage to PSB is already done.
Lisa Campbell, editor