In response to last week’s publication of Ofcom’s 2024-25 annual report, News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said: "Ofcom’s report exposes a structural imbalance that can no longer be brushed aside. The regulator acknowledges again that the BBC’s rapid growth in online local news is contributing to the pressures faced by commercial providers.
“Local news publishers - operating without the BBC’s scale and public funding advantage - are being squeezed at the exact moment when independent, plural local journalism has never been more vital to communities.
“The Charter Renewal process is the chance to rebalance the relationship and get it right. We should celebrate the BBC’s strengths, but we must also ensure that its expansion does not inadvertently hollow out the diverse, sustainable local news ecosystem a healthy democracy depends on. A renewed Charter must introduce guardrails, transparency, and the competitive fairness needed so that the BBC and commercial local journalism can genuinely complement each other - rather than tilt the market further out of balance.”
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