Competition and digitalisation – From world-leaders to junior partners The democratic disconnect between the British public and PSBs is made even more stark by the decreasing use and relevance of broadcast formats in how audiences find and access media content. In 2018, broadcast content(including live TV and recorded or on-demand playback) accounted for 71% of UK audienc ­es’ viewing time. By 2024 this share had fallen to 56% while the use of streaming video-on-demand(‘SVoDs’, e.g. Netflix or Amazon Prime) and video-sharing platforms(e.g. YouTube) had almost doubled over the same period. 25 Approximately 70% of UK households are subscribed to at least one SVoD, with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ making up three-quarters of all UK SVoD subscriptions. 26 While the BBC and ITV are still the most-watched live TV channels, YouTube and Netflix are now UK audiences’ 2nd and 4th most used audiovisual services. 27 These trends are even stronger amongst younger audiences. Under-35s spend more time watching SVoD and video-sharing con­tent than broadcast TV, and PSBs’ TV channels are vastly overshadowed by Netflix and YouTube as younger audienc ­es’ first choice for audiovisual content. 28 This is a precipi­tous position for UK PSBs. Their core public service audi­ence on TV and radio consists of a shrinking, older cohort, while younger audiences – on whom PSBs’ future use, funding and political support depends – predominantly use social media, video-sharing and SVoD services, meaning they are far less likely to develop a connection with UK PSM content. 29 UK PSBs, Ofcom and successive governments have been exceptionally slow to address the accelerating growth of online media technologies. In the 2000s UK PSBs led the ‘digital switchover’ in TV distribution, while Channel 4 and the BBC pioneered video-on-demand services with 4od in 2006 and BBC iPlayer in 2007. Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has even credited the BBC for“blazing the trail” for SVoD as the future of TV distribution. Recently, however, UK PSBs have been passive players in the development of social networking, video sharing and algorithmic content recommendations, and are struggling to articulate a distinct public value on for-profit digital platforms. On platforms like X/Twitter and Instagram, attempts to distinguish PSM news as independent and trustworthy must contend with high levels of distrust and antagonism towards‘mainstream’ news providers, feelings that are often aggravated by public interventions from platform owners like Elon Musk. Arguably the greatest failure of UK PSM over the last dec­ade has been the absence of any attempt to create public alternatives to the Big Tech monopolies. By developing social media or video sharing platforms as public services, UK PSM could have established digital media institutions operated solely in the public interest, rather than as prof­it-seeking businesses built on exploiting users’ data and enflaming political polarisation. 30 Instead, shrinking budgets and disappearing TV audiences have forced UK PSBs to become junior partners with the dominant global media players. PSBs increasingly depend on the largest streaming or social platforms to ensure their content reaches a wide audience, or to co-produce and co-fund PSM content. 31 This has resulted in the gradual loss not only of PSBs’ ability to compete internationally, but also of audiences’ recognition of when a successful or impactful programme was originally made by a UK PSB. 32 25  Audience viewing statistics from Ofcom Media Nations reports, 2018(pg. 21) and 2025(pg. 18) editions. 26  Media Reform Coalition(2025) Who Owns the UK Media? 2025 Report. May 2025 27  Ofcom Media Nations – UK Report 2025(pg. 23). 28  Ofcom Transmission Critical: The future of Public Service Media. July 2025, pgs. 18-19. 29  Ibid., pg. 17. 30  Jay, H.(2024) The possibilities of a‘public service’ intervention to support a good digital society. The British Academy. 31  Ofcom Transmission Critical: The future of Public Service Media. July 2025, pg. 25. 32 JIGSAW/Ofcom(2020) An exploration of people’s relationship with PSB, qualitative research report. July 2020, pg. 39. At the Cliff-Edge: Public Service Broadcasting in the United Kingdom 7