Untimely demise of ad-funded public service programming: Ofcom has painted a bleak picture for ad-funded public service broadcasting just as ITV prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary

Marketing Week, October, 2004 by Torin Douglas

So, farewell, TV advertising. For almost 50 years, the 30-second ad has funded a full range of high-quality public service broadcasting (PSB) in the UK. It was a remarkable achievement, harnessing ad revenue for public purposes--in stark contrast to the US model--and now its days are numbered.

So says Ofcom in its blueprint for PSB as we move into the digital age. The system that gave us advertising-funded news, current affairs, documentaries, drama, arts and religion--as a public good, in return for access to scarce analogue spectrum--can no longer be relied upon to provide such programmes.

Bob Iger believes the advertising model is under great strain too. The president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Company was in London last week to...