Media regulator Ofcom has produced their annual Public Service Broadcasting report revealing that the main TV channels, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are spending less money on comedy.
According to the report original UK comedy spending by the main channels fell by four percent last year, to £99 million, the lowest figure ever recorded over the decade the report has been running.
Original UK comedy output has decreased on Public Service Broadcasting channels to 193 hours, a reduction of nine percent compared to 2014 and down 18 percent on the output levels in 2006. However, this is not to say original output had decreased; spending on the drama genre went up in 2015 by 12 percent to an eye watering £311 million. That’s a lot of period costumes…
The comedy spending reduction has occurred in spite of Ofcom’s audience opinions research indicating that 72 percent of viewers believe high quality comedy plays an important purpose on the channels – only 69 percent believe the same applies to dramas and soaps.
Just over half of those who responded to the Ofcom survey said they felt the main channels were meeting their expectations in terms of comedy output – though this is an improvement from the 50 percent satisfaction rate in 2014.
You can see the comedy output of the channels collected in this handy graph format here.
For more information on Ofcom’s findings click here!
