Ofcom Streaming Services: Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video to face broadcast‑style rules in the UK
The UK is extending broadcast‑style oversight to on‑demand platforms: ofcom streaming services will now be subject to enhanced regulation under the Media Act 2024. The change brings content, accessibility and complaints powers to video‑on‑demand services that reach significant UK audiences.
Ofcom Streaming Services scope: Media Act 2024, Tier 1 designation and who is covered
The government is implementing the Media Act 2024 through secondary legislation that will bring the largest, most popular video‑on‑demand platforms under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Any VoD platform with more than 500, 000 UK viewers or users will be designated a "Tier 1" service and come under a new VoD standards code similar to the broadcasting code followed by traditional broadcasters such as the, ITV and Sky News. Named services identified in the legislation include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, along with public service broadcaster VoD services such as ITVX and Channel 4. VoD services provided by the, including 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.
New rules on news accuracy and harmful material, and Ofcom's enforcement powers
The new regime requires platforms to follow rules on accurate and impartial news reporting and to protect audiences from harmful or offensive content. Ofcom will be able to accept and investigate complaints from viewers about content on streaming platforms, and if it considers there has been a breach it will have the power to take action. Enforcement options include fines of up to £250, 000 for each breach, or a penalty equivalent to 5% of revenue generated in the UK for each breach.
Accessibility code: percentages for subtitling, audio description and signing, and the timeline
Ministers will create a new VoD accessibility code enforced by Ofcom that sets minimum targets for accessibility features. Mainstream streaming services will be required to ensure at least 80% of their total catalogue is subtitled, 10% is audio‑described and 5% is signed. The largest mainstream services will have four years to meet the accessibility code requirements, with interim targets after two years; the government says it expects many services to meet the requirements earlier. Ofcom will shortly begin a public consultation on the new VoD accessibility code, giving the public and providers a chance to set out views on the rules that will sit inside the codes. The government has been clear these are minimum targets and fully expects VoD services to go further where possible.
Why ministers are pressing the changes and who stands to benefit
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy framed the move as both a consumer protection and industry‑level measure. "By bringing the most popular video‑on‑demand services under enhanced regulation by Ofcom, we are strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting our vibrant media sector, " she said. She also emphasised how viewing habits have shifted: "We know that the way audiences watch TV has fundamentally changed. Millions now choose to watch content on video‑on‑demand platforms alongside or, in the case of many young people, instead of traditional TV. "
The government highlighted usage figures to justify the change: two‑thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of the three biggest streaming services—Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+—and 85% of people use an on‑demand service each month, compared with 67% who watch live TV. Officials also point to accessibility needs: an estimated 18 million people in Britain are deaf or have hearing loss or tinnitus, and 350, 000 are blind or partially sighted; the accessibility code is presented as a way to reduce barriers to on‑demand content for those groups.
Regulatory gap being closed and the status of services previously outside UK rules
Until now only licensed television channels had to comply with Ofcom's broadcasting code and accessibility requirements such as subtitles, meaning many of the UK’s most popular VoD services were not regulated to the same standard and some were not regulated in the UK at all. Netflix has not been regulated in the UK because its European headquarters are in Amsterdam and it has been subject to Dutch law; the new rules are intended to bring such services under UK oversight. The government says bringing these platforms into the regulatory framework will protect audiences—particularly children—ensure impartial news reporting and give viewers a route to complain to Ofcom when content breaches the code.
