Independent Review of the BBC's New Digital Television Services
Submission to the DCMS 

May 2004

From Carole Tongue
Former MEP spokesperson on public service broadcasting
Visiting Professor in audiovisual policy at the University of the Arts, London

BBC digital Children's Channels (Cbeebies and CBBC)
I will restrict my comments to the BBC digital offering for children.
The voice of our children is rarely if ever heard.  Given television represents the second curriculum after school, it is of enormous importance in shaping the hearts and minds of future generations, and as such demands the exercise of particular responsibility and care from society as a whole.

Context
The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child states clearly that every child has the right of access to creation and cultural diversity.  This has been ratified by 188 states.
Signatories to the Convention recognise the important function performed by the mass media.  In particular the power of television to shape the minds and tastes of children is without doubt.  TV schedules provide the second curriculum outside the classroom and TV plays a vital role in children's emotional and intellectual development.  We, as adults, have a critical responsibility to meet and fulfill our children's right to receive TV programmes that are age appropriate; diverse in content (drawing from their immediate culture and others around the world, particularly Europe); programmes that are entertaining as well as educational, reflecting a broad range of artistic styles and forms . 

Furthermore, if our young people are to truly enjoy not just British but also European citizenship, then the screen curriculum must give them information and images from British and other European cultures.  Indigenous programmes are an important form of citizenship education in that they can give our children a sense of belonging to a particular society: that of multicultural Britain and indeed the rest of the European continent.  The stories that derive from our culture are the glue that binds us together, our shared social values emerge from our past and the society we live in is understood through our stories.  These shared values deserve protection.

This is the society for which they will take some responsibility, as voters, when they are grown up.   If they never see the streets of Manchester, Mannheim or Madrid but only those of Miami and Manhatten, how will they ever learn to understand their society and to begin to empathise with their fellow citizens in Britain and Europe.  Such an understanding is also imperative if our young people are to live, study and work in a transfrontier economy ?   Building long-lasting peace and stability as well as the ability to compete in the global marketplace demand that future generations know and understand much more about their own country, continent and the rest of the world. 


This is recognised in virtually all OECD countries' audiovisual regulation which favour home-grown programmes for children.  In Australia, for example, all pre-school programmes have to be indigenous Australian.(1)

Germany's public service broadcasters ZDF and ARD chose to launch a children's channel before any other digital offering.  This channel is perceived to have successfully carried public service into the area of thematic channels. Helmet Kuhne MEP, argues that this channel meets a fundamental need in German society,

"Kinderkanal is necessary because otherwise the young viewers grow up without any alternative. This means that children should have wide possibilities on offer and not just a restricted offer of certain comics/cartoons interrupted by toy advertising." 

The same could be said now of the BBC's digital children's channels.

In the late 1990s the Broadcasting Standards Commission conducted an in-depth study which revealed how choice for our children had declined in favour of more imported animation on all channels.  The BSC commented; "Some of British Children's TV programmes are becoming an endangered species."

ITC figures, published by the European Commission in 2000(2) showed clearly that  four cable and satellite children's channels carried less than 50% home-made programmes thus failing to meet the requirements of the European television directive which demands that 51% of content on channels should be from Britain and the EU. Only Nick Junior carried more than 50% indigenous programming.  It could be argued that this not only represents unfair competition for our terrestrial channels investing heavily in children's programmes but also provides a diet of mainly American programmes for our children both in style and content. In digital homes in 2001/2002 viewing of Nickleodeon stands at 10.75% while CBeebies and CBBC digital channel combined reach was 10.1%. (3)
No public record exists of investment levels by the non-BBC thematic children's channels in home-grown programmes having increased in the last 3 years.
In a recent report it is said:  "However, there are few signs as yet, of the BBC's investment in programming actually encouraging a significant increase in the original programming budgets of near rivals."(4)


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(1) "Culture or Anarchy". Published by the Social Market Foundation 2002.Chapter on public service regulation in the OCED

(2 Com (2002) 612 final.   5th Communication from the European Commission to the Council and European Parliament on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC 1999-2000. 

(3)Source BARB age 4+ as at March 2002

(4) Page 11. "An Assessment of the Market Impact of the BBC's Digital TV Services by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates Ltd. March 2004.




The rapid expansion of American programming for children in recent years has raised the question of how best to respond to the tidal wave of American children's programming that can pose a real threat to the vernacular television that our indigenous broadcasters still aspire to provide for children's audiences.

One obvious measure is to step up the level of investment to match that of the four major UK children's content providers; Nickelodeon, Time Warner, Walt Disney and Fox.  However a cursory look at some of the figures involved showed that the scale of increase required rules out additional investment alone as an effective barrier to further expansion by the big four.  Even in the unlikely scenario of this sum being augmented by a factor of three or four by domestic broadcasters, distributors and venture capitalists it would not begin to match the 2.1 billion dollars invested in 2000 in children's programme production in the USA - 53% of total annual spend worldwide.

Nickelodeon alone announced in 2000 a 400 million dollar investment in building its library of animated series - a figure which comfortably exceeded the combined spend of ITV and the BBC at that time.

The important thing to recognise is that the fierce battle being waged in this country for children's viewers is being conducted between a broadcasting territory with a historic focus on its own audience and a continent which has always looked beyond its own boundaries towards global expansion and some would argue, dominance.

"Whilst it is vital that we recognise the needs of international programmers and exploit co-production possibilities wherever and whenever it is appropriate to do so, we must continue to use whatever means are at our disposal to supply British children with vernacular television by allowing the extraordinary talent base of writers and producers of children's television that we have in this country to flourish.

We must be prepared occasionally to step outside market forces and to respect the pre-eminence of the idea over the business plan.  We need to preserve the opportunity for producers to make completely unexportable television for British children about their lives, their concerns and their circumstances." (1)  

It is not a question of depriving children of the best television available from overseas.  However, there is a public consensus that British children's television should be predominantly British in style, tone and content.  This is by no means a narrowing of focus or ambition - what we have is an unparalleled pool of talent, a rich heritage and a vibrant multicultural society to draw on.  The BBC children's channels fulfil that function and show amply that our original programming is as attractive, as interesting and as entertaining as the best of the imports, if not more so.

It is in this context that one should look at how the new channels are fulfilling the conditions laid upon them by the Secretary of State.

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(1) Michael Forte, former Head of ITV Childrens Television. Speech to VLV Conference on Children's Television 2000

Fulfillment of Secretary of State conditions for launch of CBeebies and CBBC

"Both CBeebies and CBBC launched in February 2002 as dedicated channels for pre-school children and 6 to 12 year olds respectively.

The aim of CBeebies was to create an educationally orientated channel that encouraged a playful approach to learning, contained a high degree of UK and EU programming - in particular staying away from large volumes of US and Japanese animation supplied by the commercial market - and which was free of adverts. The service was also required to involve a high degree of interactivity. It had an initial programme budget of £15 million a year.

Similarly, CBBC was aimed at providing a more educationally oriented channel than commercial rivals with a mix of home grown programme genres such as news, factual, drama and studio magazine shows, with less reliance on imported animation and which was free of adverts. The channel has an initial programming budget of £26 million." (1)

Disinctive Remit and High Quality Programming

The Secretary of State conditions state that CBeebies" will maintain a higher level of educational programming than its competitors".  CBeebies delivered 61% educational/schools programmes in May 2003, compared with 50% for Nickelodeon Junior and 47% for Playhouse Disney.

CBeebies provides innovative and challenging programmes of very high quality.
They combine a range of engaged and lively presenters with live presentation links.  Children are encouraged to participate and interact.  A whole range of pre-school genres are offered from story telling to music and movement or simple science and animation.  Catherine Bennett. Television critic at the Guardian wrote on 17.7.03:
"a regular viewer tells me that, supposing she had to pay for it, the sublime trio of Balamory, Tikkabilla and Story makers would alone justify the licence fee, for they not only amuse, she believes, but instil an early sense of all the good and intelligent things television can do."  I endorse this sentiment completely as a mother of an 11 year old daughter who watches these BBC channels regularly.

Original Programming and support for the indigenous creative industry
The channels offer a distinctive offering through its UK/EU based original programming.  Around 95% of programming is made in the UK/EU and around 80% is originated content.

Furthermore, "CBeebies utilises far less animation and shows more educational programming than its nearest rivals. When the channel does use animation/puppet based output it shows a far greater proportion of UK originated material.

CBBC also tends to use far less animation than all its rivals, although a fair proportion of what it does use is US originated. Overall its schedule has far more factual and 

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(1) Pages 8, 9   in "An Assessment of the market Impact of the BBC's Digital TV Services by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates". March 2004



current affairs programming than any near rival, with far more educational programming than any of its rivals except Discovery Kids. However, almost all Discovery Kids educational output is non UK originated, and the channel only obtains about 0.3 per cent of children's viewing in mutlichannel homes compared to CBBC's 3.2 per cent." (1)

The BBC investment in and showing of over 80% original indigenous children's programming, and shown on its digital channels, offers a necessary alternative to children's channels carrying principally imported content and a welcome boost to the UK's creative audiovisual industries, particularly UK animation.

A safe and trusted environment with no advertising
Parents regularly say that the BBC's digital children's channels have given them peace of mind and that they feel that their children are watching high quality worthwhile programmes of direct relevance to them. 

Children should be allowed to grow up where there are some spaces with no commercial pressures put upon them.  The school is one such place and public service television is another.  Once again many parents are relieved that such an advertising free space exists on television in the shape of the BBC's children's channels. 

What more could the BBC do on these digital channels ?
Firstly, whatever happened to the 1960s BBC programme carrying European fairy stories made by ourselves and fellow Europeans ?  Surely important in an era when we tell our young people that they are European citizens able to live, work and study anywhere on the continent.
Secondly, there are Children's Film Festivals.  The BBC would make the perfect showcase for the best children's films in the world which at present have no audiovisual outlet in this country.  
Thirdly, the BBC once co-operated with other public service broadcasters in Europe to make 6 feature length films called "The Animals of Farthing Wood." Each broadcaster made one and benefited from all at a great saving to the licence fee payer.
What is the status of such co-operation now ?
Fourthly, S4C has recently run an ambitious animation project across the world supporting broadcasters in developing countries to make animation features. The project provides for all participating countries in both developed and developing nations to have access to each other's animation.  Is this something that the BBC should emulate ?

The BBC should use the opportunity of its thematic children's channels to revive and reinvent some of this proud past on behalf of our children as well as embracing new innovative ventures that broaden children's access to many cultures.


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(1) Page 42   in "An Assessment of the market Impact of the BBC's Digital TV Services by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates". March 2004


Conclusion
Television for children is something that we have the ability to produce to a brilliant standard in the United Kingdom and we have a strong cultural imperative to recognise the vital role it plays today in shaping a child's view of the world.  If we allow that view to be shaped entirely by commercial forces we are failing our children by depriving them of the rich diversity that they have hitherto been fortunate enough to enjoy.  

The BBC digital children's channels, with no advertising and carrying a wide range of stories and voices from our society make an invaluable and unparalleled contribution to stimulating our creative talent, strengthening our audiovisual industry and meeting our children's educational and cultural needs. 

It is within this context that one must view the BBC digital children's channels. Both from a cultural and economic point of view, they are a necessary balance to imported programming.  The BBC children's channels, through investment in and broadcast of at least 85% of indigenous children's programming, are above all addressing the specific cultural and the developmental needs of our children.  























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