The rapid growth in streaming online services and its effects on the current television industry was the seminal point of the guest lecture organized under the aegis of International Education Cell by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, FMeH.

Dr. Geoffrey Davies, the Principal Lecturer at the Department of Journalism- School of Media, Arts and Design at the University of Westminster and a former producer and broadcaster at BBC, Thames News and Music Box, was the speaker for the day. He spoke on ‘Television streaming services and the nature of television in the UK including BBC’. 

 Dr. Maithili Ganjoo, Director FMeH welcomed the guest and encouraged journalism students to keep abreast of the latest trends of media.

 The two-hour-long session was aimed at understanding the latest trends in Television and Streaming Services with special emphasis on the British Broadcasting Corporation.

 Dr Davies said, “There is an upsurge in the online streaming platform subscriptions in comparison to the other traditional media platforms.” He quoted figures from the latest media regulator reports to support his claim. “The total number of UK subscribers to the three most popular online streaming services in the UK –Netflix, Amazon and Sky TV has hit 15.4 million. At the same time, the number of subscribers to pay-TV packages is at 15.1 million: Ofcom report.”

This marks a major competitive shift from the TV industry to new emerging global internet firms. Changing viewing habits, especially among new generation viewers are the main reason for subscribers ditching traditional pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters including BBC, ITV and Channel 4, he opined.

 Talking about the BBC, Dr. Davies informed students that the main source of revenue for the public broadcaster is the license fee, a kind of tax and not advertising. The British government doesn’t “control” the media directly, but intervene by regulating the license fee. The British Prime Minister has already given a fee-waiver to old UK citizens, 75 years and above, which has incurred a huge loss to the organization.

Mr. Manoj Raut, HoD, J&MC, FMeH, in the end, summed up the session and gave the vote of thanks. Comparing the British media with its India counterpart, he said, “the TV industry is undergoing huge changes across the world, this may limit the traditional formats but will open new opportunities for work.”