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UK-based broadcaster Sky has called on the British government to tackle regulatory red tape that threatens to stifle the creative sector ahead of government plans to launch a review of TV trends.
In a report ahead of the annual Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge on Wednesday, the company warned that “significant amounts” of its resources were being used to deal with regulatory requirements. The company stated that one day a week of Sky’s technology resources are deployed on regulatory requirements, resulting in a “significant cost” to the business.
Sky is advocating for a new “innovation impact assessment” that would require government departments to explicitly consider the effect of new rules on companies’ ability to innovate.
In the report, the broadcaster, owned by Comcast, expressed concerns that the UK’s media and entertainment industry’s ability to innovate is at risk due to the substantial resources devoted to regulatory requirements, emphasizing that time and effort could be better allocated elsewhere.
Sky CEO Dana Strong highlighted the growth potential of the media and entertainment sector in response to international demand for British content. Strong predicts that this demand could increase the UK’s GDP by £10bn by 2033. The report also estimates a 50% growth in demand, driven by the significant market share held by British TV companies.
Sky, which recently inaugurated new studios in Elstree, is also urging the government to support studio infrastructure by streamlining planning processes and re-evaluating the Valuation Office Agency’s property tax ratings for studios.
The company stated, “There are currently development proposals for 44 new studio spaces across the country, but progress is slow due to ongoing funding and planning obstacles.”
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer will also address the TV conference, expanding on her plans to grow the creative industries by £50bn and add one million additional jobs in the sector by 2030.
But Frazer will promise to protect those who depend on free-to-air services as more TV content moves online. She ensures that they will not be “left behind” by the continued rise of streaming services, according to details of her speech shared in advance.
A new project studying future TV trends will begin to inform long-term policy decisions on whether to extend the current commitment to keep Freeview channels on air until at least 2034.
“This government wants to encourage the sector to keep embracing innovation and technological development. But we’re not going to pull the rug from under the devoted audiences of Freeview channels,” Frazer is expected to say. “We want terrestrial television to remain accessible for the foreseeable future.”
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