Sky has urged Ofcom to take action against ITV and Channel 5 for overly benefiting from government support, the Sunday Times has reported.
The broadcaster said in a submission to Ofcom’s review of public service broadcasting that the current model sees ITV and Channel 5 take more from “in-kind subsidies” and “government support” than they provide in value to viewers. It called the model “no longer fit for purpose,” urging the regulator to move towards more targeted and open interventions.
“There is no longer a need for two privately-owned, profit driven commercial broadcasters to be designated as ‘public service broadcasters’ from which they derive more benefit, via in-kind subsidies and other government support, than they deliver in return,” Sky said.
As public service broadcasters, ITV and Channel 5 are required to broadcast a quota of news and current affairs shows, as well as content for children, programmes outside of the M25 and regional news on ITV.
As part of ViacomCBS, Channel 5 is now a potential rival to Comcast-owned Sky. Meanwhile ITV has recently moved away from working with Sky to focus on BritBox and ITV Hub+.
