The Media Act 2024: What’s happened and what’s next

Since the Media Act 2024 (the “Act”) received Royal Assent in May 2024, Ofcom has been steadily building out the regulatory framework that will reshape how UK audiences access and experience public service broadcasting, on-demand content, radio and other media services. Over 18 months on, the foundations have taken shape but there is still a lot to be done.

The last 6 months have seen a flurry of activity with several consultations, statements and guidance on various Media Act topics now published since our previous roundup. In this update, we break down the latest developments and highlight what’s on the horizon as implementation of the Act continues through 2026. 

If the pace feels a tad glacial, that’s because the workload is vast.  Ofcom is simultaneously rewriting the rulebook for PSBs, streaming platforms, radio and connected TV whilst its BAU work continues. For example, in November last year it published a Call for input on the Review of broadcast regulation, seeking industry views on how broadcast licensing, advertising regulation and content rules need to further evolve. The deadline for responses was the end of January and no doubt Ofcom is also now sifting through numerous suggestions on that front too. 

1. Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs)

Prominence for PSB on-demand services: Guaranteed prominence for the likes of iPlayer and ITVX, mirroring the protections their linear channels have long enjoyed, was one of the headline wins for PSBs in the Media Act. The process of bringing this into law continues: 

1. Ofcom published its final report recommending which connected TV platform should be designated as regulated “Television Selection Services” in December 2025. After consulting stakeholders, Ofcom identified 15 popular connected TV platforms that met the criteria of having over 700,000 active users, concluding these platforms are widely used enough that they must carry PSB content and ensure it is prominent; and 
2. on 14 January 2026, Ofcom launched a consultation on a Draft Code of Practice for Regulated Television Selection Services and accompanying guidance for prominence and accessibility on designated connected TV platforms. This draft code sets out how platform operators should practically implement the new prominence and accessibility duties, which include making designated PSB player apps prominent and improving the experience of disabled users. Concerns have been raised by the tech community that the new rules are overly prescriptive in parts and highly ambiguous in others. 

We go into more depth on the Draft Code in our article here.

In the meantime, the PSBs are already looking further ahead with calls for the extension of the regime to additional devices, such as games consoles, and guaranteed prominence for PSB content on services like YouTube. The latter is partly framed as a weapon against disinformation, though sceptics might note it would also help PSBs compete for eyeballs in environments currently dominated by user-generated content.

New PSB policy guidance: In July 2025 Ofcom issued final guidance for PSBs in putting together their annual Statements of Programme Policy (“SoPPs”). These policies set out how the PSBs intend to deliver on their public service obligations and are particularly important at this juncture given the Media Act enables PSBs to deliver their obligations across a broader range of services. PSBs need to set out in their SoPPs how their on-demand services will contribute towards the fulfilment of their public service obligations and this, in turn, is crucial to having those on-demand services given prominence on designated TV platforms (on which, more below). The updated guidance tells PSBs the range of information they should provide in their SoPPs, and Channel 4 in its Statements of Media Content Policy. By June 2026, PSBs will have published their first SoPPs under this new regime, documents that will be closely scrutinised by Ofcom and industry observers alike.

Channel 4 commissioning rules: In November 2025, and after consulting on its draft guidance between June and August 2025, Ofcom has published its final guidance and supporting statement for Channel 4 Corporation’s (“C4C’s”) new Statement of Commissioning Policy. This is one of the more commercially significant reforms in the Act. By repealing C4C's publisher-broadcaster restriction, the Act has cleared the way for Channel 4 to build in-house production capacity for the first time. The trade-off is that C4C must now demonstrate fair and transparent treatment of independent producers in its commissioning process. The independent production sector will be watching closely as Channel 4 has historically been a crucial commissioner for UK indies, and the dynamics of that relationship are about to shift. The full provisions of the Act associated with these changes commenced on 1 January 2026 and, having published its statement, Ofcom now expects C4C to publish its SoCP online. Please see our article highlighting the key points of the final guidance here.

Updated PSB content quotas: In October 2025 Ofcom announced that it had published its proposals updating how PSBs meet their quotas for original, regional and independent productions, following its consultation in July 2025. The Act allows PSBs to include availability on their on-demand services towards meeting their quota obligations (provided the content is available for free and, for most content, for at least 30 days). Ofcom’s statement sets out how these quotas apply in the context of  on-demand services. For example, the Act required the conversion of the quotas to a number of hours and level of spend, rather than a percentage of linear output, which Ofcom has done for each PSB (with the indie quotas having been set out in secondary legislation which came into force on 1 January this year). For PSBs, this offers welcome flexibility; for Ofcom, it creates new monitoring challenges as content availability becomes more fluid.  

Broadcast Regulation call for input: Separate to the Media Act, in November 2025, Ofcom published a call for input seeking stakeholder views on how broadcast regulation needs to evolve. This follows Ofcom's public service media (“PSM”) review, Transmission Critical, which set out recommendations to strengthen PSM amid intensifying competition from global streaming platforms, including increased funding for PSM content, strategic partnerships between PSB and tech vendors to increase PSM reach and engagement, and investment in media literacy to protect future generations from harmful online fraud and disinformation. The call for input closed on 29 January 2026, and a statement is expected in due course. 

Local news requirements for analogue commercial radio: On 25 February 2026, Ofcom published its statement and final guidance on new requirements for local news and information on local analogue commercial radio stations, following its consultation between April and July 2025. Local stations (other than those with turnover under £50,000) must broadcast local news at least hourly during daytime weekdays (06:00–19:00) and at least three times during peak weekend/bank holiday hours (07:00–12:00), including some "locally-gathered" news from journalists physically present in the area, which might be considered a throwback in an era of working from home and citizen journalism. Lower-turnover stations (under £50,000) face lighter requirements and need not include locally-gathered content. All local stations must broadcast local information regularly throughout daytime weekdays and at peak times on weekends and bank holidays, and maintain an online public file detailing their compliance. Stations not previously subject to local news requirements have two years to comply, whilst all other licensees have one year. Ofcom will shortly contact licensees with proposed licence variations, which will be open to representations before final licence variation decisions are made.

2. Video on Demand / On-Demand Programme Services (ODPS)

Streaming safety review: In November 2025 Ofcom published a review of the audience protection measures (“APMs”) used by ODPS. The report found that leading ODPS platforms (such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer) have broadly adopted adequate APMs (such as age ratings and classification systems, content warnings, parental controls (including PINs) and age assurance measures) to protect audiences from harm. However, Ofcom noted room for improvement, for instance, where content warnings and parental controls were concerned, noting that these should work more consistently across different devices.

Further monitoring of protections: 

Over the coming months, Ofcom will consult on a new Video on Demand Standards Code ("VoD Code") and VOD Accessibility Code:

1. VoD Code: On 24 February 2026, the Government published its Statement on designation of Tier 1 Video-on-demand (VoD) services in advance of making secondary legislation to designate those services. After the Tier 1 services have been designated on 1 April 2026 pursuant to the On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026, Ofcom will consult on the draft VoD Code, with implementation expected towards the end of the year. APMs will operate as a key compliance mechanism under that Code.
2. VoD Accessibility Code: Ofcom is expected to publish a consultation on a new Accessibility Code for VoD services, setting out the level of accessible programming they are expected to provide and how they should do so.

Please see our article looking at this in more detail here. 

3. Radio Services and Radio Selection Services (“RSS”)

Radio sometimes feels like the quieter corner of the Media Act, but Ofcom's work here addresses some long-standing commercial tensions, particularly around the gatekeeping power of multiplex operators and the growing influence of big tech platforms over how audiences discover and access radio content. Recently we’ve seen:

• Digital radio multiplex information requirements: In September 2025, Ofcom published a consultation setting out proposed licence conditions for requiring local and national multiplex operators to publish transparent “rate cards” disclosing the fees they charge to radio stations for carriage. The underlying concern is that multiplex operators control access to DAB distribution, and radio stations have historically had limited visibility over what others are paying. Mandating published rate cards seeks to level that information asymmetry and give stations more leverage in negotiations. Please see our article here. The consultation closed on 26 January 2026. 
• Smart speaker platforms consultation: Voice-activated devices have quietly become a major route to radio for audiences. In October 2025, Ofcom consulted on designating Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri as RSS under the Act, citing their usership of over 700,000 in the UK as being of a sufficiently significant level to bring these platforms within Ofcom's regulatory perimeter. RSS will be required to ensure that traditional UK broadcast radio services remain discoverable on their services, mitigating the risk that tech platforms prioritise their own audio offerings or make it harder for users to find broadcast radio. The consultation closed on 11 December 2025. 
• Commercial radio licence renewals: In November 2025, Ofcom released a statement clarifying the process for renewing local commercial radio licences under the Act’s new provisions. We expect the vast majority of licence renewals will continue to be on the basis of DAB provision and Ofcom will grant renewals of licences under the New Renewal Route in limited circumstances only, where a) there is no available multiplex, or b) there is no suitable multiplex. For licensees, this confirms that the regulatory trajectory remains firmly digital. Analogue may linger, but it won't be the basis for long-term licence security. Please see our article here where we discussed the proposed conditions during their consultation. Last month, the DCMS announced a review into UK radio, which will assess the impact of digital shifts, market trends and emerging technologies. The review is set to conclude in the autumn with a report to the government. This report will inform further policy development and the latter stages of the ongoing BBC Charter Review.

What’s coming next?

• Code for voice assistants: In 2026, Ofcom has announced it intends to follow up on the RSS designation by consulting on a Code of Practice setting out how the designated RSS (“DRSS”) can comply with their new duties under the Act. This will be worth watching: the detail of the Code will determine whether designation has genuine teeth. Ofcom also intends to provide information to internet radio services (“IRS”) on how they can ask Ofcom to benefit from the new regime. 
• Digital radio multiplex rate cards guidance: following the closure of the consultation, we can expect Ofcom to publish its conditions requiring multiplex operators to publish their current “rate cards” of payments radio stations must make when seeking carriage on the multiplex. For radio stations that have long negotiated carriage fees in the dark, this should bring some welcome transparency.

4. Listed events 

The listed events regime, which ensures that major national sporting moments like the Wimbledon Final, the FA Cup Final and the Olympic Games remain available on free-to-air television, has always involved a delicate balance between public access and commercial rights value. The Media Act updates this framework for the streaming age, and Ofcom is now working through the implementation detail.

On 29 January 2026, Ofcom published a statement and consultation setting out how it proposes to implement the Act’s changes to the listed events regime. It proposes definitions of “live coverage”, “adequate live coverage” and “adequate alternative coverage”, terms that matter commercially because they determine how much flexibility rights holders have to carve up packages and sell to pay-TV or streaming platforms without falling foul of the regime. 

A separate consultation on Ofcom’s proposal to remove the conditions relating to listed events included in broadcast licences closed on 2 March 2026. Ofcom is proposing to strip listed events conditions from broadcast licences altogether rather than simply updating them to reflect the Act's changes. The logic is that the regime should impose obligations directly on all in-scope service providers who will not necessarily hold Ofcom licences, so there's no good reason for broadcast licensees to carry additional licence-based requirements that don't apply to everyone else caught by the regime. It's a tidying-up exercise, but one that indicates Ofcom's preference for a level playing field (i.e. if you're in scope of the listed events rules, you should face the same obligations regardless of whether you hold a broadcast licence). 

Outside of the implementation of the Media Act, there appears once again to be political pressure to extend the list of Group A events to include Six Nations Rugby and Test Cricket. 

We are watching the Act’s progress along the roadmap for implementation, so keep an eye out for our updates on our dedicated CMS Media Act Tracker. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Act or how it may affect you, please get in touch. For the latest updates, please also refer to Ofcom’s interactive timetable.

Co-authored by Helena Thornby, Trainee Solicitor at CMS.