Ofcom has published a consultation on its draft Code of Practice for connected TV platforms on prominence and accessibility.

As we have discussed previously here, one of the effects of the Media Act 2024 is to impose new requirements on major online TV platforms to ensure that content from public service broadcasters (PSBs) is ‘available, prominent, and easily accessible’.

In addition to expanding on what these terms mean in more detail, Ofcom’s new draft Code provides helpful guidance on what the new requirements will mean for platforms in practice, complete with mock-ups of user interfaces, recommended steps that can be taken to ensure that public service content and channels are given the requisite prominence, and how content remains accessible for disabled users.

On prominence, Ofcom sets out numerous ‘recommended actions’, including that designated PSB player apps should be “immediately visible and appear within the first nine tiles” of an app menu; public service content should be given no lesser prominence than non-public service content; and PSB channels should occupy the first positions where users can watch live channels on the platform.

As for accessibility, the recommendations include designing measures so that users are able to access information about how to navigate the user interface through a voice guidance function, enabling interfaces to be enlarged in size or for high contrast settings to be applied, and taking reasonable steps to ensure that users can make effective use of accessibility features available on programmes.

The consultation closes on 25 March 2026, after which Ofcom will publish its final Code of Practice and guidance later this year. The consultation can be found here.