Members of the UK House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee are to question representatives of regulator Ofcom and advocacy group the Voice of the Listener and Viewer as well as DCMS Minister Sir John Whittingdale in its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Media Bill. This is the Committee’s fourth and final session on the Bill. The Evidence Session on will take place July 4^th.

The first panel, featuring the Voice of the Listener and Viewer and Ofcom, will focus on the Bill from both a viewer’s perspective and that of the broadcasting regulator. The Committee is likely to explore changes to the Public Service Broadcasting remit, Ofcom’s monitoring of the remit, the new arrangements for ensuring prominence for Public Service Broadcasters on smart TVs and the new Video-on-Demand Code to regulate standards for on-demand viewing

In the second panel, MPs will question the Minister and a senior DCMS official on key issues which arose during the inquiry.  Questions could focus on listed events provisions in the Bill, the Bill’s implications for Channel 4 and measures to protect radio stations’ availability on smart speakers.

Witnesses from 10am:

• Kate Biggs, Content Policy Director at Ofcom
• Kate Davies, Public Policy Director at Ofcom
• Colin Browne, Chair at Voice of the Listener and Viewer

Witnesses from 11am:

• Sir John Whittingdale MP, Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries at Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• Robert Specterman-Green, Director of Media and Creative Industries at Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Other posts by Colin Mann:

1. Analysis: SVoDs drive $220bn content spend
2. A TikToking clock heading towards regeneration – or not?
3. European pay-radio: Getting ready

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Business, Connected TV, OTT, Policy, Regulation, Standards

Tags: Colin Browne, Culture Media and Sport Committee, DCMS, Ofcom, Sir John Whittingdale, Voice of the Listener and Viewer