[Satellite News 05-24-10] While the U.K. broadcasting market has seen radical changes in the way people consume video, Ofcom, the British broadcasting regulatory board, working with the United Kingdom’s new conservative coalition government, will most likely implement minor changes to regulatory policy, according to panelists at the Broadcast & Beyond 2010 event in London.
    Ofcom board member Tim Gardam said that coverage of the United Kingdom’s recent elections and new coalition government has left an impact on the country’s broadcast landscape. 
    “The recent election showing that television was used as the key media source and not bloggers or user generated content on the Internet. Those who assume the death of public service broadcasting should now pause for the thought. Television has particular powers compared to other digital forms of content. Television can harness culture. Public television is the most emancipating medium of a modern democracy,” Gardam said.
    With the transition to digital TV now essentially complete in the United Kingdom with digital television being in over 90 percent of homes, the country remains a vibrant digital TV market. Despite the Internet video phenomenon, television viewing in the United Kingdom increased in the last year. However, the impact of pan-European broadcast regulation is a concern at Ofcom, Gardam admitted.
    “Ofcom has gone a long way to adapt new regulations to the new digital world. We believe they allow the necessary space for British broadcasters. However, the impact of European regulation could be negative on broadcasters. Brussels regulation could risk pan-European ecology in this area. We have adopted the least intervention to on-demand services, for example,” said Gardam
    Ofcom’s responsibility to bring the right regulation to protect consumers includes consideration of the greater choices that subscribers have, including the Internet. Gardam said that regulating the Internet is just as important. “Net neutrality is a major issue, and a debate about the future of net neutrality will be had. There has been a disruption to traditional relationships. This issue will become a major focus for Ofcom,” says Gardam.
    Andrew Neil, ex-editor of the Sunday Times in London, agreed with Gardam on the importance of the issue, but speculated that there will not be radical changes for the government towards broadcasting policy. “From what I understand, the new coalition has a general disposition to deregulate. They won’t abolish Ofcom, but they will scale it down. I was told it has become too big and intrusive. There is no desire for hand-to-hand combat with the BBC. If you take on the BBC, it becomes all-consuming. If they get their way, the BBC Trust is unlikely to stay in its current form. My sense is the BBC maybe put under Ofcom, because it puts all broadcasters under the same regulator.”