The regulator has now said “it is possible that in some local areas, additional BBC page views may be displacing commercial page views to some degree”
A report by Ofcom has confirmed the BBC is now “part of the headwinds” threatening local commercial news. The government-approved regulator for broadcasting previously backed the BBC’s plans to invest heavily in creating online local news in direct competition to historic brands such as the Liverpool Echo.
This came at the expense of local radio which saw much-loved broadcasters such as Linda McDermott leave BBC Radio Merseyside as the corporation cut back on local programming and introduced shared shows across regions. The regulator has now said “it is possible that in some local areas, additional BBC page views may be displacing commercial page views to some degree”.
It is the first time the communication watchdog has acknowledged the national broadcaster has contributed to the challenges faced by websites such as the Liverpool Echo. The BBC being the only provider of local news content across the UK would mean brands such as ours would not be there to campaign for Zoe’s Place or a Hillsborough Law, to reveal how austerity has impacted our city or to tell the stories of the Queen of Crocky or Old Swan hero Richard Spencer.
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In its Review of Local News in the UK, published last week, the regulator said: “We recognise that increased BBC online local news forms part of the headwinds facing local publishers.” But Ofcom said the BBC wasn’t solely to blame for an overall decline in page views in local news pointing to longer-term trends such as news avoidance and tech giant referrers such as Google and Facebook.
The admission that a plan approved by Ofcom meant the BBC was part of the headwinds facing commercial publishers is a significant change in position. It will raise further questions in Westminster about Ofcom’s role in monitoring the BBC’s approach to local journalism — having previously come under fire for supporting the dismantling of local radio services around the country.
Ofcom’s position also directly contradicts assurances from the man behind the BBC’s plans, Rhodri Talfan Davies, who said in December last year that the expansion wouldn’t harm existing publishers.
Overall, BBC local news page views have risen from 200m in March 2023 to just under 300m in June 2024, while commercial local publications have fallen from around 750m in March 2023, to 600m in June 2024. BBC local news market share has risen from 23% to 31% in that time.
In some areas, including Shropshire, the Isle of Man and Jersey, the BBC had 90% market share of page views but less than 20% market share in Merseyside, Tyne and Wear, Birmingham and the Black Country.
The report also shows clear evidence that in the areas where the BBC has concentrated its efforts – Wolverhampton and Bradford, for instance, where specific online sections have been set up – it has gained significant market share at the expense of local publishers. Ofcom’s research also found that only 2% of the BBC’s local coverage was unique.
That’s in contrast to titles such as the Liverpool Echo which reports daily on local courts, crime, traffic and travel updates as well as comprehensive coverage of our football clubs, alongside shopping, nightlife and showbiz. But Ofcom says local and regional titles across England could come under increased pressure if the BBC continues to provide more localised content.
“It is possible that future BBC changes will have a different impact on commercial publishers,” the report says. “For example, our qualitative research noted that if the BBC provided more localised online content, people might choose it over alternative online sources, suggesting greater potential for substitution. Therefore, some future BBC changes may require further consideration by the BBC and Ofcom.”
David Higgerson, chief digital publisher at the Echo’s parent company Reach PLC, said: “We are pleased Ofcom has recognised that the BBC is part of the headwind local news publishers now face. The data presented by the BBC speaks for itself, as does its research.
“Ofcom’s research shows just 2% of local BBC news articles are unique, and not covered elsewhere. Ofcom’s research also concludes that articles from commercial publishers tend to be longer, which to us demonstrates the BBC’s expansion into local news is now crowding out deeper, local journalism from established providers, which ultimately will leader to a less media plurality and a local media space dominated by a publisher who is not able to campaign on behalf of local people.
“We hope that the BBC finally comes good on the requests of MPs, the DCMS, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee and Ofcom and recognise its broad role in creating a healthy, pluralistic local news world in the UK, which has to go far beyond its continued, and welcome, support for the Local Democracy Reporters Service, a scheme which came about as a result of inspired leadership from within the BBC by people who were committed to the BBC doing the right thing.”