BBC vs Channel 4

IPTV Shift Could Sustain PSBs and UK Production

A new Oliver & Ohlbaum (O&O) report highlights financial pressure on UK public service broadcasters (PSBs): PSB linear ad revenues fell 13% to £2.2bn in 2025 and the BBC’s licence fee income is £1.2bn lower than at the start of its charter. PSBs still account for the majority of UK original commissions and investment, but PSB investment in original UK content fell from £2.78bn in 2024 to £2.61bn in 2025. O&O argues a planned transition from DTT to IPTV (with DTT licences ending in 2034) could cut duplicated transmission costs (about £156m/year) and allow PSBs to redirect funds into content and digital services, helping to sustain UK production.

• Oliver & Ohlbaum (O&O) reports PSB linear ad revenues fell 13% to £2.2 billion in 2025.
• The BBC’s licence fee income is £1.2 billion lower than at the start of its current charter.
• PSBs account for 85% of all UK original hours and provided 71% of UK original content investment in 2024.

Brands Say They Want Authentic Women—Only Skin Deep

Opinion piece by Sarah Owen responding to Hayden Panettiere’s account that her long-running relationship with Neutrogena ended after she spoke publicly about postpartum depression. Owen argues Panettiere’s experience highlights a broader issue: many brands prefer simplified or non-controversial representations of women and struggle when talent speak candidly about health issues such as infertility, menopause, endometriosis or pregnancy loss. Drawing on her charity work with the Fertility Futures Project and examples like Emma Barnett, Owen calls for brands to accept that customers and representatives are whole people whose health experiences may not fit neat campaign narratives.

• Hayden Panettiere was the face of Neutrogena for around a decade.
• Panettiere says Neutrogena wanted to end their relationship after she spoke publicly about receiving treatment for postpartum depression and that her contract was not renewed the following year.
• The article cites wider women’s health topics—including menopause, fertility/infertility, endometriosis and pregnancy loss—as subjects that remain stigmatized or uncomfortable for brands to engage with.

Joyn Adds Two BBC FAST Channels Free

ProSiebenSat.1's streaming service Joyn has expanded its FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channel lineup by adding BBC Earth and BBC Lifestyle to its free offering. The two new BBC channels bring the total number of BBC Studios FAST channels on Joyn to four and increase Joyn's free FAST catalogue to more than 35 channels. BBC Earth will provide nature and science documentaries while BBC Lifestyle adds entertainment and lifestyle formats. The channels are available without an additional subscription and are supported by advertising, increasing Joyn's ad inventory for advertisers targeting CTV/OTT audiences.

• Joyn added the BBC channels BBC Earth and BBC Lifestyle to its free FAST offering.
• Users now have four FAST channels from BBC Studios available on Joyn.
• Joyn's free FAST channel lineup has grown to more than 35 channels.

Week in Review: Prime Video, UK DTT Interoperability, Channel 4 Cuts

This week in review from VideoWeek covers Prime Video's expansion of its 'Shop the Show' feature to over 8,000 titles, DTG's report emphasizing interoperability challenges for the UK's internet-delivered TV transition, and Channel 4's announcement of a 28% workforce reduction as part of a transformation strategy. Other stories include Meta's ad controversy, US military disabling ad trackers, Magnite's first agentic campaign in EMEA, The Trade Desk's S&P 500 exit, NVIDIA's video tools, Innovid's Meta MCP integration, and Telly's programmatic home screen ads. Additionally, TF1's 2027 roadmap, DOJ's widened probe into Fox's Roku acquisition, Paramount's bond request, and various publisher and agency updates are highlighted, including Coca-Cola's media review and Madison & Wall's ad growth forecast.

• Prime Video expands 'Shop the Show' to over 8,000 titles, adding 'Shop the Scene'.
• Channel 4 plans to cut 28% of its workforce (~340 roles) by end of 2026.
• DTG report stresses interoperability as key for UK's IP-delivered TV transition, with DTT sunset proposed for 2034 or 2044.

Police probe Reform UK donations and polling after C4 news report

A new police investigation follows the undercover filming broadcast on Channel 4 News in which senior figures in Reform UK arranged to get a foreign donor to pay for opinion polls and discussed a potential half a million pound donation from a supposed foreign donor.

BBC urges government to modernise funding model

In its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26 the BBC called for ‘radical reform’, urging the UK government to use the upcoming Charter review to modernise the broadcaster’s regulatory framework and funding model. The report said the current licence-fee-funded system is unsustainable, highlighted declining licence-fee income (around 25% lower in real terms) and stable group revenues of £2.2bn, and emphasised commercial growth and efficiency. New Director-General Matt Brittin (a former Google executive) set priorities including making the BBC’s case during the Charter process and pursuing faster experimentation on third-party platforms. The report noted partnerships (including a YouTube deal), talks with Channel 4 about combining streaming services to build a “sovereign platform”, and urged a lighter, growth-focused regulatory framework to help the BBC compete with global streaming giants and tech platforms.

• The BBC called for “radical reform” in its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26, urging the government to use the Charter review to modernise its funding and regulatory framework.
• Licence fee income was reported as around 25% lower (£1.2 billion in real terms) than at the start of the Charter period.
• Group revenues were reported as stable at £2.2 billion, with growth in D2C services offset by declines in commissions and ad revenues.