The Future of Children’s Public Service Content
A Report by Professor Sonia Livingstone and Claire Local
As part of Lord Puttnam’s inquiry into the future of public service television, Sonia Livingstone and Claire Local have reviewed the evidence on the changes in children’s media use, to ensure that children’s interests are reflected in the inquiry.
They report:
One problem is that the available data seems to suggest that children are deserting television for the internet, because the measures focus on devices not content. Our analysis shows both that most children now watch content on both television and the internet, with little obvious decline in their engagement with television content. A new problem, however, is ‘discoverability'. If good quality children’s content is available online, how are children to find it and what can be done to overcome this problem?
Livingstone, S. and Local, C. (2016) Children and public service broadcasting. Submission to the Puttnam Inquiry, ‘A Future for Public Service Television: Content and Platforms in a Digital World.’
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