Disney+ To Come Under Enhanced U.K. Regulation By Ofcom
With streaming services becoming the main way people consume shows and movies, countries around the world have been making changes to their laws to reflect the shift in consumer habits.
Today, the British government has announced that streaming services with more than 500,000 UK users, such as Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, will now have to conform to the same content rules Ofcom requires for traditional broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, which are designed to protect audiences and improve accessibility.
These regulations reflect the significant shift in how audiences choose to watch TV. Two-thirds of households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+, with 85% of people using an on-demand service each month, compared to 67% who watch live TV. Many, especially younger audiences, now bypass TV channels and head straight to streaming services when choosing what to watch.
Up until now, only linear channels had to comply with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code and accessibility requirements, such as offering subtitles. According to the government, this poses a risk to audiences and a lack of consistency across TV and TV-like services. Under these new rules, the major streaming services like Disney+ now have to comply to the same rules as British broadcasters.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said in a statement regarding the changes:
We know that the way audiences watch TV has fundamentally changed. Millions now choose to watch content on video-on-demand platforms alongside or, in the case of many young people, instead of traditional TV.
The Media Act introduced vital updates to our regulatory framework which this government is committed to implementing. By bringing the most popular video-on-demand services under enhanced regulation by Ofcom, we are strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting our vibrant media sector that continues to innovate and drive growth across the UK.
The Culture Secretary will designate the most popular VoD platforms with more than 500,000 UK users as ‘Tier 1’ services, meaning they will need to adhere to a new VoD standards code. Similar to the Broadcasting Code, this will ensure that news is reported accurately and impartially and audiences are protected against harmful or offensive material.
Audiences will be able to complain to Ofcom if they see something concerning, and Ofcom will have powers to investigate, and take action, where they consider there has been a breach of the code.
A new VoD accessibility code will set minimum requirements for accessibility features, and services will need to ensure that at least 80% of their total catalogue is subtitled, 10% is audio-described, and 5% is signed. This will benefit people with disabilities, particularly those with sight and/or hearing impairments, and ensure that more content can be enjoyed by everyone.
Ofcom will shortly begin a public consultation on the new VoD standards and accessibility codes, offering the public and providers an opportunity to set out their views on the rules that will be included in the codes.
Roger’s Take: With the changing landscape to streaming, personally, I do think the major streaming platforms should have to comply with the same rules as British platforms like the BBC. This will force streaming services like Disney+ to offer more accessible content, such as subtitles. It’s likely other countries will do the same, so hopefully, this will just result in Disney offering subtitles and audio-described versions as standard. The signed version is slightly more complicated, since British and American sign languages are very different, so a much lower requirement is unfortunate, but understandable.
There will, however, likely be an impact on some of the content available on streaming services like Disney+ in the UK, especially with news coverage from ABC News, though I doubt it will impact on the majority of films or shows available, as Disney generally avoids making content that wouldn’t be allowed anyway.
Ultimately, the global streaming platforms like Disney+ are going to have more restrictions in countries around the world as they continue to grow, and in order to operate in these countries, they will have to follow the local rules, like any other business is expected to. It’s also good that the regulations are being updated to reflect a change in viewer habits, and this is likely to be just a first step in more regulation for global streaming platforms.
What do you think of this change to UK laws? Let me know on social media!
