A new inquiry will explore the provision of children’s TV and video content in the UK and what can be done to ensure future generations continue to have access to high-quality British-made programming.
Research from Ofcom shows a structural shift in the viewing habits of young people, with television viewing by children dropping and YouTube now the most used app or site by children of all ages, with 88% of 3 to 17-year-olds using it last year. The changing ways in which audience consume TV and video, has made it more challenging for public service broadcasters to make original TV content for children and for it to be found. This has a knock-on effect for those in our creative industries who want to make quality UK TV and video for children.
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry will therefore examine how to ensure those making original high-quality content can continue and how it can be made easier to find it online.
It will also explore issues relating to parental control of online content, the potential positive and negative effects of how children watch TV and video content on their health and development, and wider issues relating to the sector’s contribution to the economy and its importance to the UK’s cultural identity.
Chair of the CMS Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, said: “Children’s viewing habits have come a long way, but whether they watch through a smart TV or a tablet, there is still demand for good quality TV and video for children. We all want young people to have access to a range of programming, so in addition to cartoons, they also see drama and factual programmes. We want them to be able to be educated and inspired, as well as entertained.
Changes to the media landscape, particularly the shift in viewing to YouTube, pose huge challenges for the future of children’s programming and the continued production of original content by our public service broadcasters. We want to know what prominence means for programmes made for children in the future world of smart TVs, streaming, video sharing platforms and endless choice.
We have a proud history of high-quality children’s television in the UK. Our inquiry will be showcasing the contribution the sector makes to both our culture and economy and how we can best ensure that content designed for children in all its forms continues to both educate and entertain.”
Terms of reference
The Committee is inviting written submissions in response to the following questions:
Children’s TV and video content in the UK
1. Who is commissioning and making original, high-quality, TV and video content for children and young audiences in the UK?
a. How can they be best supported to continue to make more?
2. How does the range of content and genres for children vary between that provided by public service media, subscription channels, and both short- and long-form video sharing platforms?
a. Which audiences, by age or other characteristic, are currently being underserved?
b. How can we increase the amount of news and factual programming made for children on TV and online?
Finding children’s TV and video content online
3. How can it be made easier to find original, high-quality, TV and video content for children online?
a. How can the attribution of public service children’s content on video sharing platforms be improved?
4. How effective are the tools available for parents to control what children are watching on public service media, subscription channels, video sharing platforms?
Health and child development
5. What evidence is there that the TV and video content that children watch, and how they watch it, can contribute:
a. Positively to their health, learning and development?
b. Negatively to their health, learning and development?
Wider benefits of children’s TV
6. How does children’s TV made in the UK contribute to:
a. The UK’s culture and identity?
b. Our cultural and economic exports?
