Television Selection Services and Electronic Programme Guides: Regulation

Following the statement I published on 24 February 2026, I can now confirm to the House that my Department has today laid the following statutory instruments before Parliament:

The Television Selection Services (Designation) Regulations 2026; and

The Regulated Electronic Programme Guide (Prescribed Description and Transitional Arrangements) Regulations 2026.

This SI specifically designates those television selection services that will be captured by the new prominence regime introduced by the Media Act 2024.

To support the future sustainability of our public service broadcasters, the Media Act introduced a new prominence regime into the Communications Act 2003 that will require particular TV platforms—referred to in the Act as “regulated television selection services”—to carry and give appropriate prominence to designated public service broadcaster video-on-demand apps. Once commenced, this new regime will ensure that UK viewers can continue to find the public service media content they value on-demand.

In order to be captured by the new prominence framework, a television selection service must be designated by the Secretary of State via statutory instrument, following advice from Ofcom. Ofcom issued its draft advice on 22 July 2025, which it consulted on, and then issued its final statement on 16 December 2025. I confirmed on 24 February that, having thoroughly reviewed Ofcom’s advice and considered all stakeholder responses, I was minded to agree to Ofcom’s recommended list of designations set out in its final report. I am now bringing forward this SI to make those designations.

This SI marks an important milestone in the implementation of the Media Act 2024 and concludes the Department’s work on the designation of which television selection services are in-scope of the new prominence regime.

This SI was announced in the same February statement referred to above, along with the On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations. The SI updates the meaning of a regulated electronic programme guide (EPG), extending vital audience protections and accessibility requirements to newer TV guide services, such as Sky Glass and Freely. Any TV channel that can be accessed through a regulated EPG will also be within Ofcom’s remit and therefore required to have a broadcast licence.

Furthermore, the regulations will address a regulatory loophole in the existing framework whereby some TV guide services fall outside regulation despite being easily accessible through regulated services.