The Save Kids' Content UK campaign's open letter to the Culture Secretary, outlining the background to the campaign and asking how the Government intends to address the decline of children's television over the past 15 years.

1. Please respond to:
William Pett
Save Kids’ Content UK
The Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP 34 Smith Square
Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport London
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport SW1P 3HL
100 Parliament Street William.Pett@jbp.co.uk
London
SW1A 2BQ
15th
September 2016
Dear Ms Bradley,
The Decline of the UK’s Children’s Television Sector
As I am sure you are aware, public service television for children has historically been provided by the BBC, ITV,
Channel 4 and Channel 5. The Broadcasting Act 1990 required commercial public service broadcasters (PSBs) to devote
specific amounts of time to children’s broadcasting and there was a healthy level of children’s content across the
channels.
However, the 2003 Communications Act downgraded children’s content from Tier 2 to Tier 3 programming, thus
relieving commercial PSBs of their obligation to meet quantitative targets of children’s programming. This precipitated
a dramatic decline in investment in the independent children’s television sector in the UK – a decline that was
compounded in 2006 when Ofcom issued an advertising ban on high fat, salt and sugar foods (HFSS) during children’s
programmes. Though an important ruling for children’s health, the ban further reduced revenues that PSBs could make
on children’s content.
In 2002 PSBs spent £192m on children’s content, and £75m of that was from the commercial PSBs, ITV, Channel 4 and
Channel 5. By 2013 overall PSBs spend had dropped to £98m with only £5m of that coming from commercial PSBs.
Overall spend has dropped by nearly half, with commercial PSB participation falling by 93%, and it continues to decline.
On behalf of Save Kids’ Content UK (www.SaveKidsContent.org.uk) and the supporters listed below, I would like to ask
what the government intends to do over the coming years to address the issue and support the independent children’s
television production industry? Tax credits to producers have been welcomed but ultimately they have not helped to
stimulate demand for UK-produced children’s content. British children are watching imported animation-based
programmes in increasing numbers. If the UK is to compete with foreign producers of such programmes a fairer
market is needed so that we can achieve plurality of provision and diversity of content. This has reached such a point
now that our home market has almost disappeared. This is effectively squeezing out home-grown content so that
British children’s television no longer offers a wide range of programmes reflecting their own experiences.
I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Anne Wood CBE
Creative Director, Ragdoll Productions Limited and Founder of the Ragdoll Foundation

2. Co-signatories:
Lord Watson (Labour Shadow Education Minister)
Charlotte Leslie MP (Conservative Member of Parliament for Bristol North West)
Marion Fellows MP (Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw)
Professor Sonia Livingstone (London School of Economics)
Professor Steven Barnett (University of Westminster)
John McVay, Rosina Robson, Emma Oyama (Pact)
Lalla Ward (Actress)
Vicky Ireland MBE (Action for Children’s Arts)
Tony Collingwood (Collingwood & Co)
Mike Watts (Novel Entertainment)
Tom Beattie (Tiger Aspect)
Helen Howells (Ho Ho Entertainment)
Jean Kitson (Kitson Press)
Rebecca Watson (VH Associates)
Ashley O’Kane (Acmar Films Ltd)
Juliet Tzabar (Plugin Media)
Peter Thornton, Mark Hollingsworth (Ragdoll Foundation)