Lord Hall: BBC is not on level playing field with US giants

THE BBC is fighting against American streaming giants with “one hand tied behind its back”, Lord Tony Hall will say, as he as he warns of a future of television without British shows.

Lord Hall, the director-general, will use a speech to the Royal Television Society tomorrow to call for a levelling of the playing field between UK public service broadcasters, subject to careful regulation, and companies such as Amazon and Netflix.

In a speech outlining plans to tackle the “big shift” in the media industry in an age of online streaming, he will warn that “one set of rules applies to UK companies, and barely any apply to the new giants”, saying programmes in years to come “won’t necessarily be British content unless we get the future right”.

He will lay out a five-point proposal to keep up with the new media landscape, promising more investment in young people and “high quality content”, a constant reinvention of its “services”, a continued fight against fake news and spending more outside London to better reflect British life.

“We cannot allow any further narrowing of distinctive British content, or its crowding out by better and better-funded overseas competitors,” he will state.

Outlining the scale of competition, he will reference studies that found Netflix was spending $8billion (£6million) a year on content, Amazon $5billion, and Britain’s public service broadcasters combined, including the BBC and Channel 4, £2.5billion.

“It cannot be right that the UK’S media industry is competing against global giants with one hand tied behind its back,” Lord Hall will say.

“In so many ways – prominence, competition rules, advertising, taxation, content regulation, terms of trade, production quotas – one set of rules applies to UK companies, and barely any apply to the new giants.

“That needs rebalancing, too. We stand ready to help, where we can.”

He will add: “This isn’t just an issue for us economically, commercially or as institutions. There is an impact on society.”

 John Humphrys has signed a new contract to remain as the host of BBC Mastermind until at least 2021, according to documents putting the show out to tender.