MTM research helps shape DCMS’s new Watch This Space green paper on the future of UK public service media
MTM research helps shape DCMS’s new Watch This Space green paper on the future of UK public service media
MTM research has helped inform the UK Government’s new green paper setting out a strategic direction for the future of television and public service media.
Published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Watch This Space examines how changes in technology, distribution and audience behaviour are reshaping the UK media landscape. The paper considers how trusted, high-quality television can remain accessible, how public service media can continue to reach audiences and what the transition towards internet-delivered television could mean for UK households.
Research from MTM’s 3 Reasons and ScreenThink services form the basis of the government’s analysis of changing viewing behaviour. The data shows how audiences’ starting points for finding something to watch have shifted between 2020 and 2025, with video-on-demand services becoming increasingly important as live television declines as an initial browse destination.
MTM and 3 Reasons research also contributes to the government’s forecasts for the future transition to internet protocol television (IPTV), helping quantify the number of households that could remain unconnected and highlighting the importance of digital inclusion as television distribution evolves.
The findings form part of the evidence base behind a consultation that informs the future distribution, prominence and accessibility of public service media across the UK.
Rob Collier, director of strategy and principal of 3 Reasons at MTM, said: “We're proud that the evidence 3 Reasons and MTM developed has helped inform this Green Paper. The proposals confirm what the data has shown for some time: viewing has moved online, and the policy framework for UK audiences has to reflect how consumption habits are changing. We built the forecasts in the report in 2023, and the updated figures show those trends accelerating, which reinforces the case for protecting universal access for public service media and the audiences who depend on it most."
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