Statement on designation of Tier 1 Video-on-demand (VoD) services
Statement on the designation of Tier 1 on-demand programme services published in accordance with section 368HB(3) of the Communications Act 2003.
This statement has been published in accordance with section 368HB(3) of the Communications Act 2003, and fulfils the legislative requirement to publish a description of the video-on-demand (VoD) services that will become Tier 1, in advance of making secondary legislation to designate such services. The On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026 are scheduled to be laid in March 2026, to come into effect on 1 April 2026. A draft of these regulations has been published alongside this statement:
Background
The UK has a thriving and diverse media landscape and the proliferation of VoD services means audiences have almost instant access to more content than ever, across hundreds of different providers. These providers differ greatly in scale and offer a variety of services and content – from blockbuster films to more niche, genre-specific content. VoD services bring enormous value to audiences, and in many cases make significant contributions to the UK economy. According to Ofcom’s Media Nations 2025 Report, 85% of adults use a VoD service every month, compared to 67% who watch live TV.
However, while mainstream VoD services are becoming more TV-like, VoD services have historically not been regulated to the same extent as traditional broadcast television. VoD services based in the UK (referred to as on-demand-programme service, “ODPS”, in legislation), must comply with the requirements set out in Ofcom’s ODPS Rules and Guidance. While these do include some audience protections (for example, by prohibiting material likely to incite violence or hatred, and protections for under-18s), they are not as extensive as the Broadcasting Code which applies to broadcast television and radio. VoD services based outside of the UK are currently unregulated in the UK, meaning there is limited recourse for audiences if they encounter something which concerns them. There is also limited oversight around audience protection measures, such as content warnings and family protection features. As the use of VoD services has grown, this has created risks to audiences and a lack of consistency across media regulation.
The Media Act 2024
The Media Act 2024 introduced vital updates to the UK’s broadcasting regulatory framework. This included providing powers to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to designate certain VoD services as Tier 1 services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. This includes a new VoD standards code (referred to in legislation as the Tier 1 standards code), which will be similar to the Broadcasting Code and set appropriate standards for services and protections against harmful and offensive material. Tier 1 services will also be required to comply with a new VoD accessibility code (referred to in legislation as the accessibility code for Tier 1 services), which will set minimum requirements for accessibility features such as subtitles, audio description, and sign language provision. These will mirror the existing requirements in place for commercial broadcasters. The targets will mean that Tier 1 services will need to ensure that at least 80% of their total catalogue is subtitled, 10% is audio-described, and 5% is signed. However, the government is clear that these are minimum targets and fully expects services to go further than this where they can.
Ofcom has also been given new data gathering powers and a new duty to review the audience protection measures used by all Ofcom regulated VoD services. The scope of these reviews is to consider whether the audience protection measures are adequate for the purpose of assisting the providers to protect audiences from harm. VoD services use a range of audience protection measures, including age ratings, content warnings, parental controls, and age assurance measures. Ofcom’s first review of audience protection measures was published on 27 November 2025, and Ofcom will carry out a further review following implementation of Tier 1 regulation.
Implementation: The On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026
Under section 368HB of the Communications Act 2003 (as inserted by the Media Act 2024), before making regulations to designate Tier 1 services, the Secretary of State must request that Ofcom produce a report on the operation of the VoD market in the UK, and must have regard to the contents of that report. The Secretary of State commissioned such a report on 17 September 2024, and Ofcom provided their report to the Secretary of State on 30 May 2025. It covered a number of areas including: UK audience numbers, availability and ease of access to UK audiences, UK turnover and VoD operations, size of UK catalogue, and nature and content of services. This report has not been published as it contains confidential, market sensitive information which may be shared by Ofcom with the Secretary of State but may not be further shared (whether by Ofcom or the Secretary of State), as set out in section 368HB(10) of the 2003 Act.
Having considered Ofcom’s report, the government will shortly lay the On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026. These regulations designate VoD services with more than 500,000 average monthly users in the UK as Tier 1. The government estimates this will capture more than 20 of the most popular services used by UK audiences, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX, and Channel 4.
Other metrics, such as turnover, catalogue size, and content spend and type, were considered as possible designation metrics. However, these were discounted, after review, as ultimately less suitable for identifying the most popular services, and therefore not appropriate to achieve a targeted benefit to UK audiences via designation. In designating services with more than 500,000 UK users, the government has taken a proportionate approach that balances the need for audience protections and accessibility features being available on the most popular VoD services, without placing a disproportionate burden on smaller services which reach fewer people, who may be less able to comply with Tier 1 obligations. It is essential that new regulation balances the need for improving audience benefits and protections, without introducing unnecessary red tape and restricting growth. The government will keep this threshold under review.
Under these regulations, a person who uses a VoD service via a user-to-user service, such as a video-sharing platform, is not a UK user for the purpose of calculating whether the 500,000 threshold has been met. Some individual channels on video-sharing platforms could fall within the statutory definition of a VoD service, even though that may not be the intention or expectation of the channel provider. Imposing Tier 1 obligations on individual channels on video-sharing platforms – many of which are small, but whose viewership can fluctuate dramatically month to month – would be disproportionate, so the regulations provide an exemption for these services. Separate consideration will be given as to whether further reforms are necessary to futureproof our regulatory regime. This exemption will not apply to commercial public service broadcasters that use channels on video-sharing platforms to fulfil their public service remit.
The regulations also include an exemption for video-on-demand services provided by the BBC, such as the BBC iPlayer, as these services will continue to be regulated for now under the Broadcasting Code via the BBC Framework Agreement. In due course, it is the intention that the Framework Agreement will be updated in order to bring BBC UK VoD services under the VoD standards code at the same time as other Tier 1 services.
Next steps
Following the commencement of the On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026, Ofcom will engage with video-on-demand services to determine which are Tier 1, and publicly consult on and draft the video-on-demand standards and accessibility codes. The standards code will come into force one year after it is published by Ofcom. Tier 1 services will have four years to meet the requirements set out in the accessibility code, with interim two-year targets, to encourage provision progressively over the total period. This will ensure that Tier 1 services have sufficient time to review their catalogues, some of which have tens of thousands of hours of content.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will continue to monitor the implementation and impact of this measure on an ongoing basis. The Secretary of State has powers to designate further services in the future, or to amend the description of services which are Tier 1, should evidence show that this is appropriate.