A New Approach
By Adrian Mills
As the Ofcom review of public service provision for children draws to a close, it’s becoming clear that the final report will contain options for possible policy interventions which could help solve the crisis in Kids’ TV. Ofcom will be consulting on these during the Autumn, and while they cannot make any of them happen (that’s down to government) they want to stimulate a debate which could lead to the best possible option being adopted.
With this in mind, over the last couple of months SKTV has been developing a multi-media proposition which embraces children’s new relationships with media on all platforms. Our aim is to lay the groundwork for a radically different model of content production and distribution. It’ll be our contribution to the debate on sustainable methods of ensuring the continuation of public service content for kids in the UK.
The development of this plan has moved into a new phase, as SKTV has engaged digital communications consultants Digital Public for the detailed work on building our ideas into a pitch-able proposition. Work is already under way to create a robust business proposition to support and realise the plan.
This “model” will put the needs of children first and foremost. Funded through a mixed economy business model, it will be a unique and practical combination of investment by private enterprise, foundations and ethical businesses who want to support the creation and distribution of entertaining, educational and informative media which makes a positive difference to children’s lives. This model will not replicate existing commercial or PSB models some of which treat children primarily as a market and a source of revenue.
The new model is underpinned by six core values:
- Children are a special group who need protection from purely commercial interests and the values they espouse.
- Children deserve multi-media programming that is rooted in their culture and made for them, about them and by them.
- Children deserve interactive experiences that encourage them to engage with content, with each other and with the world around them.
- Long form story-telling remains one of the most powerful ways of connecting with children.
- Children deserve access to commercially responsible quality programming
- The diverse needs of children cannot be met through the single voice of one public service broadcaster for whom children’s programming is a niche element and whose funding and airtime is constantly under review.
There are a large number of strategic, creative and economic issues to be clarified and opportunities to be exploited in the development of this new model. It is hoped that the business proposition will be completed by the end of September so that it can feed into the Ofcom consultation process, and in the end gain the support it needs to be developed into a comprehensive plan for the future of kids’ media in the UK.
