The UK confirms its intent to bolster legislation of Apple TV+, Netflix, & other streaming services

The UK has further outlined its intent to increase its regulation of video-on-demand (VOD) services to ensure that they adhere to the same rules as traditional television channels and providers.

In a newly-published whitepaper, the UK outlined plans to bring the likes of Netflix and Apple TV+ under a new Video-on-demand Code, essentially ensuring that they will have to meet the same standards as traditional television companies. Those companies already follow Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code with the whitepaper suggesting both codes are “similar” to one another.

Video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video provide huge value to UK audiences, and in many cases significant, and growing, contributions to the UK economy. Viewers now have access to thousands of hours of on-demand programmes at the touch of a button across hundreds of different video-on-demand services, each of different scale and ambition and audience reach.

However, these on-demand services, other than BBC’s iPlayer, are not subject to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, which sets out appropriate standards for content including harmful or offensive material, accuracy, fairness and privacy. This means that the TV-like content you watch is regulated differently depending on how you choose to watch it.

The report goes on to point to a previous consultation regarding Ofcom control of streaming companies — that consultation has now progressed with the UK now keen to move things on to the next step — legislation.

A full response to that consultation has been published alongside this White Paper, which outlines that the government intends to legislate in a light touch manner to give Ofcom powers to draft and enforce a new Video-on-demand Code, similar to the Broadcasting Code, to ensure TV-like content, no matter how audiences choose to watch it, will be subject to similar standards. These changes will mean UK audiences will be better protected from harmful material and better able to complain to Ofcom if they see something they are concerned about.

Timescales for when this will all happen aren’t yet clear, but the whitepaper believes that the move “will mean that larger on-demand streaming services will have the same or similar obligations as traditional broadcasters, including effective handling of complaints.”

Most of the larger US-based streaming providers already have a presence in the UK, with Apple TV+ providing some of the best value at just £4.99 per month. HBO Max isn’t currently available, although there are plans for its expansion already in place. Content that would normally stream via HBO Max is currently only available to UK customers via a deal HBO has with satellite provider Sky — something that will change once HBO Max makes the hop across the Atlantic