UK Media Bill passed in House of Lords, ushering in new rules for global streamers

Netflix UK original ‘The Crown’ (Source: Netflix)

The UK’s long-gestating Media Bill has taken one step closer to being passed into law, with the legislation set to bring in new rules about how global streamers such as Netflix and Disney+ operate in the country.

The House of Lords rushed through the Media Bill on Thursday evening to ensure that it can receive Royal Assent ahead of Parliament being dissolved after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week announced a general election is to take place on 4 July.

Fearing that the Media Bill would be left by the wayside just before it received final approval, UK media leaders, including the BBC’s Tim Davie, Sky’s Dana Strong, ITV’s Carolyn McCall and Channel 4’s Alex Mahon signed a joint statement yesterday urging Parliament to push through the legislation before Parliament is dissolved.

“As leading CEOs from the UK broadcasting industry, we call on politicians across Parliament not to let the opportunity to modernise the rules that govern our sector pass,” wrote the execs, who also included the bosses of Channel 5, STV, S4C, MG Alba and ITN.

“The reforms proposed in the Bill will update key aspects of media legislation for the online TV era, to ensure audiences continue to benefit from the highest quality UK-originated content from the PSBs, and help the UK’s content sector thrive for years to come.”

Once passed, the bill will be known as the Media Act, with changes to legislation including global streamers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ now beholden to the rules of regulatory body Ofcom to allow British pubcasters to “better compete with streaming giants”.

Ofcom will gain “more robust powers” to investigate and take action to enforce standards, including issuing fines to streamers of up to £250,000 ($309,000) and – in serious cases – restricting a service’s availability in the UK.

Further changes include lifting the barrier on Channel 4 being able to produce its own content. The commercially funded public broadcaster will be handed “a new legal duty to consider its long-term sustainability alongside the delivery of its public service remit,” which will allow it to “continue to produce high impact, distinctive shows long into the future.”

Other rules include ensuring pubcasters’ on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX, are easier to discover on smart TVs, set-top boxes and streaming sticks, while global SVODs will have to follow new Ofcom content code to protect audiences from a wider range of harmful material – such as misleading health claims.