July 20, 2020

Ofcom says that it intends to recommence the survey in 2021 in a revised form, following the completion of its review on the future of PSB.

Ofcom says that its PSB Tracker is designed, among other things, to measure public opinion on how well the BBC’s channels, and the main channels of ITV, STV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C, meet each of the relevant PSB purposes and characteristics.

Ofcom has decided to temporarily suspend the tracker due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on face-to-face fieldwork, which is an important part of the Tracker’s methodology. The impact of the pandemic on people’s viewing habits also means that data gathered this year is likely to be an anomaly when evaluating long-term trends.

In place of the 2020 Tracker, Ofcom says that it will use the range of research that explores peoples’ relationship with the PSBs that it has commissioned as part of Small Screen: Big Debate. This includes research conducted both pre and post “lockdown” to explore public attitudes towards PSBs and whether they have changed during this period. For further information, click here.