Teletext responds to Ofcom report
Teletext Ltd welcomes Ofcom’s review of Public Service Broadcasting, including the proposal to restructure the supply of regional content.
Teletext’s existing obligations to provide a minimum of 12 regional news pages to 19 regions are unsustainable going forward. However, we acknowledge that Ofcom’s research has shown that regional news is seen as important by current Teletext viewers.
We reviewed the service and concluded that a new structure, in which some regions are merged and the expanded regions carry more stories, would allow us to continue to provide a high quality, affordable service.
We propose to reduce the number of regions from 19 to 13, with seven regions staying as they are now, and six new expanded regions. Each of these expanded regions would carry four more story pages, typically allowing 40% more stories than they do now.
We would merge the following regions:
South/Thames Valley; London/South East; West/East Midlands; West Country/The West; North East/Cumbria; Central Scotland/Borders.
The following regions would continue as now:
North West; Anglia; Yorkshire; North Scotland; Northern Ireland; Wales; Channel.
Teletext’s existing obligation to provide a minimum of 30 pages of national news is also not sustainable going forward. While national news remains an important area in audience terms, it has very high costs of provision – on a cost-per-page basis it is the most expensive content strand on the service.
We have proposed our national news obligations are reduced to a minimum of 20 pages.
Teletext has also proposed the obligation for 40 non-news regional pages on our analogue TV service should be reduced to match the existing 24-page obligation for digital TV. We would wish to include ‘core’ local genres – eg weather, travel, within this revised limit.
In its first Public Service Review Ofcom concluded that Teletext “should be given greater flexibility in meeting obligations through the DSO period”. As Ofcom has recognised in its second report, these changes would continue to ensure the availability of content on Teletext to those in different parts of the UK, while helping to reduce the costs of Teletext’s obligations.
Teletext Ltd
25/9/08