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The BBC is now ‘part of the headwinds’ threatening commercial local news, Ofcom has said.
The communication watchdog has acknowledged, for the first time, that the national broadcaster is contributing to the difficulties websites such as ChronicleLive are facing. Ofcom said the BBC’s move to cut back on local radio and invest heavily in creating online local news in direct competition with existing regional media ‘may be displacing commercial page views to some degree’.
“We recognise that increased BBC online local news forms part of the headwinds facing local publishers,” it wrote in its Review of Local News in the UK, published last week. But Ofcom said the BBC wasn’t solely to blame for an overall decline in page views in local news.
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Adding context to these, it pointed to longer-term trends such as news avoidance and changes to referrer platforms such as Google and Facebook. It said it was hard to separate BBC activity from other factors, such as ‘changing attitudes to news, social media and search engine algorithms and policies towards local news’.
“It appears the decline in commercial page views is part of a longer-term trend predating the BBC’s changes, although we recognise that these changes may be contributing to some degree,” Ofcom said.
But the report found BBC England local news page views have risen 40% since March 2023, while in that time, commercial local news page views in England have fallen 20%. Overall, BBC local news page views have risen from 200m in March 2023 to just under 300m in June 2024, while commercial local publications have fallen from around 750m to 600m over the same period.
The report also shows clear evidence that in some of the areas where the BBC has concentrated its efforts, it has gained significant market share at the expense of local publishers. Ofcom’s research also found that only 2% of the BBC’s local coverage was unique.
That’s in contrast to titles such as the Newcastle Chronicle, which in recent months has campaigned to save Gateshead Leisure Centre from closure and to raise awareness of knife crime in our region following the tragic deaths of teenagers including Gordon Gault and Holly Newton.
That’s alongside our day-in, day-out reporting covering local courts, crime, traffic and travel updates and sport across the North East, alongside shopping, what’s on and showbiz. But Ofcom says local and regional titles across England could come under increased pressure if the BBC continues to provide more localised content.
“It is possible that future BBC changes will have a different impact on commercial publishers,” the report says. “For example, our qualitative research noted that if the BBC provided more localised online content, people might choose it over alternative online sources, suggesting greater potential for substitution. Therefore, some future BBC changes may require further consideration by the BBC and Ofcom.”
David Higgerson, chief digital publisher at the Chronicle’s parent company Reach PLC, said: “We are pleased Ofcom has recognised that the BBC is part of the headwind local news publishers now face. The data presented by the BBC speaks for itself, as does its research.
“Ofcom’s research shows just 2% of local BBC news articles are unique, and not covered elsewhere. Ofcom’s research also concludes that articles from commercial publishers tend to be longer, which to us demonstrates the BBC’s expansion into local news is now crowding out deeper, local journalism from established providers, which ultimately will leader to a less media plurality and a local media space dominated by a publisher who is not able to campaign on behalf of local people.
“We hope that the BBC finally comes good on the requests of MPs, the DCMS, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee and Ofcom and recognise its broad role in creating a healthy, pluralistic local news world in the UK, which has to go far beyond its continued, and welcome, support for the Local Democracy Reporters Service, a scheme which came about as a result of inspired leadership from within the BBC by people who were committed to the BBC doing the right thing.”
The BBC has been contacted for a comment.
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