Broadcasting subsector series: a radical shakeup part 3. The wrong answer to the right question? A look at whether enhancing the prominence regime is really the right way to help public service broadcasters.

In its report Small Screen: Big Debate, Ofcom’s vision of the future of public service broadcasting (PSB) is set out as an urgent appeal for radical reform. The issue of prominence is identified as the key catalyst in assisting public service broadcasters (PSBs) to remain relevant in a world where technology has enabled content and platform operators to devise multiple new ways of reaching consumer viewers. The modernisation of the current legal framework ensuring prominence is touted as one of many changes required if PSBs are to stand a chance of survival; but is enhancement of the prominence regime really the right tool for the job?