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Industry News
5 April 2023
Media Bill will stop advertisers getting lost in the noise
Politics has taken a strange turn in the past few years. It’s always been intense and adversarial, but the clash of cultures, styles and ideology against a fast-moving backdrop has taken us into unchartered territory. Having three Prime Ministers and four Chancellors in a couple of months, as we did in 2022, is far from normal.
But as the parties start to gear up for a General Election, expected at some point in the next 18 months or so, there are also signs of government getting back to the business of governing.
One example that is close to the heart of media and advertising businesses is the draft Media Bill published on 29th March. This new legislation has been discussed and debated over several years and provides a rare opportunity to update the framework for media and technology. After all, the last major reform of rules and regulations in this area was 20 years ago as part of the 2003 Communications Act, a time before mobile internet access, smartphones, connected TVs or smart speakers.
This new Bill covers a host of issues, from reform of Channel 4 (after privatisation was rejected) to an update of TV prominence rules. Crucially it also breaks new ground by setting out a regime that will guarantee access to UK radio services online and on smart speakers. This change is critical for the future of radio – and its impact with audiences and advertisers – given around a quarter of all live radio listening now takes place online.
There has been a surge in online radio listening in recent years, thanks in large part to great partnerships with companies like Amazon and Google and their voice assistant platforms. This shift in consumer behaviour is providing exciting opportunities andit means that consumers have more choice than ever. It also provides broadcasters with a greater ability to offer new services and content, without the limitations of the broadcast world. This choice, along with ease of use, helps support the audience reach of radio on new devices. The added prospect of richer audience data can also help support an enhanced listener experience and a more sophisticated offer for advertisers.
However, there are also a number of significant risks from these changes, which require action from government and regulators. These risks generally stem from the power of platforms as an intermediary or gatekeeper to UK radio content, both commercial and BBC. This raises serious questions about the future. For example, will the platforms consider charging for carriage? Will domestic UK radio content be findable, discoverable and served to audiences when they ask for it? Or will users be pushed to music streaming services operated by the platforms? And will the integrity of radio content be respected, or will there be a move towards unauthorised ad insertion or ad replacement, undermining the business model and viability of commercial radio? That’s before we even consider the question of access to audience data generated by radio services.
If these sorts of examples ended up being implemented, it would be bad news for audiences, who could see their range of radio services diminished, but also bad news for advertisers. Especially if overall access to commercial radio audiences is restricted, reducing campaign reach that we know is so vital in delivering the best possible advertising effects. Similarly, if specific ads were removed or replaced without warning, this would start to have a negative impact on effectiveness and the high levels of trust in radio.
The fact that the government has made clear its strong support for the future of radio as part of its flagship reform of UK media is a big step in the right direction. Encouragingly these proposals also have widespread cross-party support. The Media Bill will ensure consumer choice is retained, guarantee access to high quality UK creative content, support innovation and make sure that advertisers are not lost in the noise.
