Ofcom dismisses competition worries from BBC’s BritBox involvement Details Editor | 19 September 2019 The imminent BritBox UK SVOD service, led by broadcasters ITV and the BBC, has received a boost from broadcast regulator Ofcom which has ruled that there is not a significant risk that the BBC’s involvement may distort the market or create an unfair competitive advantage. BritBox in the UK will provide what ITV and the BBC say will be an unrivalled collection of British boxsets and original series available on demand. This will include what they say will be biggest collection of British content available on any streaming service and brand new commissions for British production companies specifically created for the service which is set for launch in the fourth quarter of 2019. Launch programmes will include Love Island, Famalam, Cleaning Up and Gentleman Jack as well as bringing home iconic shows such as Gavin & Stacey, Victoria, Happy Valley, Broadchurch, Les Misérables, The Office and Benidorm. Going forward, ITV and the BBC say that they will provide a new and regular flow of fresh programmes as soon as they come out of their broadcast and catch-up windows. Many of these shows will be exclusive to UK viewers through BritBox and the flow of programmes will ensure that the content on BritBox is refreshed every week. However, as required under the BBC’s Charter and Agreement, Ofcom was obliged to assess whether the BBC’s involvement in BritBox represented a ‘material change’ to its commercial activities. Having considered the evidence and industry feedback to its consultation, Ofcom has now published its findings on the relationship between BritBox and the BBC’s publicly-funded, public service activities and has concluded that there is not a significant risk that the BBC’s involvement in BritBox may, as a result of the relationship with the BBC’s Public Service activities, distort the market nor create an unfair competitive advantage. Fundamentally, it believes that the BBC’s involvement in BritBox does not give rise to a material change to its commercial activities. That said, Ofcom assured that it would continue to monitor closely the BBC’s plans and involvement with the new venture, particularly with regard to any changes to the BBC’s programme release policy and any cross-promotion from the BBC. The regulator warned that would step in if it had any concerns as the service developed.