Ofcom Streaming Services: How broadcast-style rules will force complaints, fines and news checks on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+

The Media Act 2024 changes the game by bringing ofcom streaming services under broadcast-style rules — shifting complaints handling, news standards and penalty powers onto platforms that were previously outside the UK broadcasting code. The new regime targets video‑on‑demand services with more than 500, 000 UK viewers, including Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video and Disney+, and extends to PSB VoD platforms such as ITVX and Channel 4.

Ofcom Streaming Services — immediate consequences for content, complaints and penalties

Here’s the part that matters: platforms now must follow rules covering accurate and impartial news and protections against harmful or offensive material. Ofcom will be able to accept and investigate viewer complaints about streaming content and impose penalties for breaches — fines of up to £250, 000, or 5% of revenue generated in the UK, for each breach. Any VoD service that clears the 500, 000‑viewer threshold will be automatically designated a "Tier 1" service under the new VoD standards code, bringing it into parity with licensed broadcasters on key obligations.

What’s easy to miss is that these enforcement tools are procedural as well as financial: the power to accept complaints and to investigate mirrors how broadcast television is already overseen, which could change how editorial risk is managed inside commissioning and compliance teams at large platforms.

Details of the change: which platforms and which rules are in scope

The legislation explicitly applies to major streaming services named in the policy: Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video and Disney+, and to public service broadcaster video‑on‑demand services such as ITVX and Channel 4. Until now, only licensed TV channels had to comply with Ofcom's broadcasting code and accessibility requirements, such as subtitles, and some popular streaming services were not regulated in the UK at all.

Netflix has not been regulated in the UK; because its European headquarters are in Amsterdam, it has come under Dutch laws. VoD services provided by the, such as iPlayer, will continue to be regulated under the Broadcasting Code the Framework Agreement for now, but will later be brought under the VoD standards code.

Reach and audience context that shaped the move

Two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of the three biggest streaming services — Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+. The government highlighted wider viewing shifts: 85% of people use an on‑demand service each month, compared with 67% who watch live TV. Those adoption numbers are central to why the rules are being extended to so many platforms; the aim is to match regulation with current viewing habits and audience scale.

Implementation mechanics, thresholds and remaining questions

The Media Act 2024 sets the threshold at more than 500, 000 UK viewers for automatic Tier 1 designation. The VoD standards code will be similar to the Broadcasting Code that governs licensed channels such as the, ITV and Sky News, meaning news accuracy and impartiality rules and protections for children and vulnerable viewers will apply. The government framed this as strengthening audience protections, creating a level playing field and supporting the media sector's growth.

The real question now is how long the shift will take in practice and how enforcement will be phased; those timing details are unclear in the provided context.

• Tiering: more than 500, 000 UK users = Tier 1 designation and full VoD standards code coverage.
• Fines: up to £250, 000 or 5% of UK revenue per breach.
• Scope: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, plus PSB VoD services such as ITVX and Channel 4; iPlayer remains under existing arrangements for now but will move to VoD code later.
• Accessibility: platforms will be subject to rules similar to those long required of licensed channels, including accessibility requirements such as subtitles.
• Audience scale: two-thirds of households subscribe to at least one of the three biggest services; 85% use on‑demand monthly vs 67% watching live TV.

Key signals that would confirm how this plays out include how quickly platforms labelled Tier 1 update compliance processes, whether Ofcom opens early investigations under the new powers, and when the iPlayer shift to the VoD standards code is scheduled; those implementation markers are not specified in the provided context.

Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, framed the change as strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting a vibrant media sector. The practical knock‑on will be closer editorial oversight on news output and clearer complaint routes for viewers who find material harmful or offensive.

Final aside: the regulation narrows a regulatory gap that existed because some services were effectively governed by other national frameworks, but the full operational shift — from designation to sustained enforcement — will be the real test of whether the protections change everyday viewing experiences.