Background

As part of the Media Act 2024, the government introduced a new regime under which certain connected TV platforms (referred to as ‘television selection services’ or TSS) designated by the Secretary of State will be required to ensure that public service broadcasters’ online TV platforms, including BBC iPlayer, are ‘available, prominent and easily accessible’.

To achieve this, Ofcom has been tasked with recommending which connected TV platforms should be designated as ‘regulated television selection services’ or RTSS, for this purpose. Ofcom is now consulting on these recommendations.

These recommendations are based on the principles and methods on which Ofcom previously consulted and reported. You can read our previous post on the principles and methods here.

Separately, Ofcom has now published its statement on what methods it will apply when assessing whether a public service broadcaster’s (PSB) online TV platform or ‘internet programme service’ (IPS) should be designated as benefiting from this prominence on an RTSS. BBC iPlayer is automatically a designated IPS (DIPS). Other PSB IPS will need to apply for DIPS status later this year.

Terminology

What is a TSS?

A TSS is defined under the Media Act 2024 as a service which must:

1. be provided via the internet;
2. be provided in connection with internet television equipment (ITE);
3. consist of the presentation of internet programme services; and
4. enable a user to select between and access internet programme services, or programmes provided via those internet programme services, or both.

Ofcom’s Recommendations

Ofcom had the option, under the Media Act 2024, to either specify individual TSS or to designate TSS by description. Ofcom has chosen to designate the following 14 connected TV services as specified individual TSS. The list comprises common household names, including the big tech services and various free ad-supported services:

1. Amazon Fire TV OS 6, 7 and 8;
2. Android TV 10, 11, 12 and 14;
3. Apple TV OS 18 and 26;
4. Google TV 10, 11, 12 and 14;
5. LG WebOS 25;
6. Roku OS 14;
7. Samsung Smart Hub (Tizen) 8 and 9;
8. Sky Entertainment OS;
9. Sky Q;
10. VIDAA OS U6, 7, 8 and 9;
11. Virgin Media Horizon;
12. Virgin Media TiVo on V6 devices;
13. YouView on EE TV (Sagemcom devices); and
14. YouView on Sony devices.

The TSS designation will only apply to versions of a TSS available on the market from July 2025 onwards, to take account that multiple versions of a TSS may be in use.

The consultation in detail

We’ve summarised Ofcom’s assessment as based on the agreed principles and methods:

• Number of users and threshold for a significant level of use: Ofcom has now deemed that a TSS must have at least 700,000 active users to be considered as having a ‘significant number of users’ for RTSS status. This is based on the number of TSS installed on internet television equipment (ITE) devices (e.g. smart TVs, set-top boxes and streaming sticks) in UK homes which have been actively used in the last year, and is equivalent to around 1% of the total.
• Costs of designation: Ofcom factored in the potential costs of being designated as an RTSS. Ofcom found that most TSS providers with relatively large numbers of users already carried the majority of PSB’s IPS, reducing potential costs of compliance if designated.
• Levels of take-up by audiences: Despite this being one of Ofcom’s proposed principles and measures, Ofcom considered that the levels of take-up by different audience groups was not in fact a significant factor, based on the data collected.
• Trends in active users: Ofcom considered that trends in active use of a TSS, and whether that might affect the user base, was only relevant in assessing Sky+ HD. That TSS’ active usage was considered to be steadily declining, and so Ofcom has not recommended that Sky+ HD be designated. Ofcom has instead recommended that Sky Entertainment OS and Sky Q be designated.
• Types of ITE assessed: Ofcom has taken account of services which are not operating systems as such, but which still have significant control over an ITE – e.g., Freely and YouView in its form as available on Sony TV and Apple TV.
• Technical functionality: Ofcom deemed all of the 14 recommended TSS as capable of carrying DIPS such as BBC iPlayer, therefore capable of being an RTSS.

Next Steps

Stakeholders now have the chance to respond to the consultation questions, which include asking if stakeholders agree with Ofcom’s proposed approach to measure the number of people using a TSS in the UK, and Ofcom’s assessment and the threshold proposed.

The consultation opened on 22 July and closes on 16 September 2025.