By Emmanuel Oluebube, Bureau Chief, United Kingdom
Ofcom is consulting on its provisional view of the television selection services it proposes should be designated under the Media Act 2024, the regulator said.
As per Ofcom: “It is critical that viewers can easily find and discover the diverse range of high-quality content public service broadcasters (PSBs) offer for UK audiences, including trusted and accurate news. The Media Act 2024 introduced a new online availability and prominence regime for how PSB TV players – such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 stream, 5, STV player, S4C Clic – are distributed on connected TV platforms – referred to in the Act as television selection services.
Television selection services designated by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will be required to ensure designated PSB TV players and their content are available, prominent, and easily accessible.
We are now consulting on our provisional view that 14 services should be designated.
The consultation closes on 16 September 2025. We will take full account of the views of stakeholders and any further available information when making our final recommendations to the Secretary of State, later this year.
Implementing the Media Act – decisions
We are also today publishing final decisions on some other aspects of our work to implement the Media Act:
Designation of Public Service Broadcasters’ Internet Programme Services
“We are setting out the methods which we will apply for determining which PSB TV players – formally known as ‘internet programme services’ (IPS) – satisfy the conditions, set out in legislation, to benefit from the new availability and prominence regime, and therefore should be designated. BBC iPlayer will be automatically designated.
Revised Guidance for Public Service Broadcasters on Commissioning Codes of Practice
“As a result of changes introduced by the Media Act 2024 to update the regulatory framework for PSBs, we have made changes to the guidance for PSBs for producing their commissioning Codes of Practice. The changes afford PSBs’ greater flexibility and freedom in how they deliver their quotas for independent productions, by enabling them to use their on-demand players to meet independent production quotas.
Statement of Programme Policy and Statement of Media Content Policy Guidance
“The Media Act gives the PSBs greater flexibility as to how they deliver their remits. Following consultation, we are updating our guidance to licensed PSBs about preparing their Statement of Programme Policy – the documents through which they explain how they are fulfilling their remit.
Consultations: proposals for more spectrum for satellite networks and new NGSO network licence for Inmarsat and Space Norway
Ofcom is proposing to make spectrum available for satellite gateway earth stations in the Q/V band. Separately, it is also proposing to grant a joint non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) earth station network licence to Inmarsat and Space Norway.
Expanding spectrum access for satellite gateways
“Satellite communication systems rely on gateway earth stations (known as ‘gateways’), which enable large volumes of data to be transmitted between Earth and space, and then onwards to the internet or private networks.
As demand for satellite services continues to grow, so too does the need for access to spectrum. We are therefore proposing to make spectrum available for geostationary orbit (GSO) and NGSO satellite gateways in the Q/V band.
Specifically, we propose to make the following frequencies available outside major towns and cities:
GSO: uplink 47.2 – 50.2 GHz, 50.4 – 52.4 GHz; downlink 37.5 – 42.5 GHz
NGSO: uplink 47.2 – 50.2 GHz, 50.4 – 51.4 GHz; downlink 37.5 – 42.5 GHz
We are also proposing technical conditions to protect other authorised spectrum users.
We welcome responses to this consultation by 30 September 2025.
Inmarsat and Space Norway NGSO licence application
“We have received a joint application from Inmarsat Global Limited and Space Norway for an NGSO network licence.
This licence would authorise Inmarsat and Space Norway to operate user terminals in the Ka spectrum band in the UK, enabling them to provide satellite communications services – including broadband – to commercial, government, aeronautical and maritime customers. These terminals will connect to two NGSO satellites designed to extend coverage of the existing Global Xpress GSO network over the polar region, while also providing additional intermittent coverage up to 80-90% of the time over most of the UK.
Having considered the technical coexistence and competition impacts of this system on existing and future NGSO systems, and other spectrum services operating in the same – or adjacent – frequencies, we are proposing to grant an NGSO network licence jointly to Inmarsat and Space Norway.
We are inviting comments on their application, and our proposal to grant this licence, by 2 September 2025, before making our final decision.”
