UK government £60m fund for youth & audio content
Posted on: Friday 19th of October 2018
Broadcasters will be able to apply for funds to produce programming for young audiences and public service audio content. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed how £60 million, unspent from the previous licence fee settlement (levied on every TV owner in the UK) is to be allocated.
In a change to the original proposals, it has confirmed that up to £57m will be assigned to a Young Audiences Content Fund to support public service content for audiences up to 18. The Young Audiences Content Fund will be administered by the BFI. The BFI work across film, television and animation and has significant experience in the administration of public funds.
Up to £3m will be assigned to an Audio Content Fund to support all public service audio content on radio. The Audio Content Fund will be administered by an independent not-for-profit organisation created by Radiocentre (the industry body for commercial radio) and AudioUK.
Noting how the majority of public service content is delivered by the BBC, the DCMS said that the Audio Content Fund “will encourage greater innovation and experimentation, with the pressure taken off commercial stations and producers to seek sponsorship and advertising revenue. The fund will provide significant support to radio producers seeking to try something different, particularly new voices who do not have an established relationship with broadcasters, and therefore lack access to funding.”
