Ofcom’s PSB Tracker was designed, among other things, to measure public opinion on how well the BBC’s channels, and the main channels of ITV, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C, meet each of the relevant PSB purposes and characteristics.

In 2020, Ofcom suspended the PSB tracking survey due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It said, at that time, that it intended to re-design and recommission a new audience tracking survey for 2021. Ofcom has now set out its plans for a new “Public Service Media” (PSM) Tracker, to begin in Spring 2021. To improve the structure and content of the survey Ofcom is proposing, amongst other things, to:

• extend the range of people surveyed to include low, lapsed and non-PSM users;
• include a new section on how well people consider other major content providers (for example Sky, Amazon Video, Netflix, YouTube) offer PSB-like content;
• update the wording of certain questions and offer additional background or descriptive context to improve participants’ understanding; and
• change the fieldwork methodology (if required) to accommodate Covid-19 restrictions and ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Ofcom is now inviting comments on these proposals by 12pm on 27 January 2021. For further information, click here.