September 2023
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This conference assessed the future for children’s media in the UK, with a focus on broadcast and online audio-visual content.
Following the end of the Young Audiences Content Fund in 2022, and as the Draft Media Bill and Online Safety Bill progressed through Parliament, the conference was an opportunity to discuss priorities for policy and regulation.
Delegates assessed next steps for funding and investment, and the way forward for children’s media broadcasting as a public service, as well as how to maintain the prominence and relevance of public service children’s media in the face of changing trends in children’s consumption of media.
We also expected discussion on:
- how to regain the viewership of older children and retain younger viewers as they mature
- securing the prominence and accessibility of children’s broadcast media
- guaranteeing online provision as a public service that benefits children, as well as options for regulation of non-PSB providers
Further sessions looked at how to create a sustainable future at all levels of the production chain while keeping pace with new technological opportunities and service developments in the sector.
We are pleased to have been able to include keynote sessions with Kira Vermang, Project Director, Children's Media, Ofcom; Professor Dr Ger Graus, Global Education Adviser, First Global Education Director for KidZania, Founding CEO of the Children’s University; Emma Scott, Chair, World Book Day; Chief Executive Officer, Cultivation Partners; and former Chief Executive Officer, Beano Studios; Patricia Hidalgo, Director of Children’s and Education, BBC; and Mel Bezalel, Commissioning Editor, E4.
Sessions in the agenda included:
- the children’s media sector: assessing the landscape for broadcast and online audio-visual programming - key issues for policy and sector stakeholders
- trends: shifts in children’s media consumption - use of social media and technological influences - implications for regulation
- PSBs: serving children of all ages UK-wide - support for education and awareness - PSB competitiveness - use of flexibility in fulfilling remits - engagement with the independent production sector
- quality and diversity: content relevancy across the age range - comparing domestic and foreign-produced content - skills and the talent pipeline - priorities for policy and regulation
- finance: the public/private funding and investment mix post-Young Audiences Content Fund - supporting a thriving investment and export market - IP monetisation - the impact of taxation changes
- child safety online: the Online Safety Bill - implementation of age-verification - reducing exposure to harmful content - making reporting of violations easier
- policy: the way forward for children’s media policy - opportunities, issues and the roles of key stakeholders
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from DBT; DCMS; GLD; Ofcom; and the Welsh Government.
