For years, a television channel and a streaming service that show similar programmes have been regulated very differently in the UK. This guide explains how the Media Act 2024 and the government’s 2026 “Tier 1” designation are designed to narrow that gap, what the new Ofcom codes are meant to cover, and which services and channels sit outside the new regime. It describes UK rules only; the United States, the EU and other countries regulate streaming differently.
What is the Media Act 2024 trying to change?
The Media Act 2024 is an Act of the UK Parliament. According to the legislation.gov.uk contents page, it is organised into seven Parts, including public service television, prominence on television selection services, public service broadcasters, and, in Part 4, on-demand programme services. Parts 5 and 6 deal with radio.
Part 4 is the one that matters here. It gives the Secretary of State powers to bring certain on-demand services under enhanced oversight by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator. The government’s stated aim, in its February 2026 announcement, is to protect children and vulnerable people as viewing habits move from scheduled television to on-demand services.
What does “Tier 1” mean?
“Tier 1” is the label for the largest, most popular video-on-demand (VoD) services. According to a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) statement published on 24 February 2026, a service counts as Tier 1 if it has more than 500,000 average monthly UK users. The statement says the draft On-demand Programme Services (Tier 1 Services) Regulations 2026 were due to take effect on 1 April 2026.
The government estimated that the threshold would capture more than 20 of the most popular services. Its announcement named Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX and Channel 4 as examples of the kind of service covered. The final list of designated services is for Ofcom to work out after the regulations take effect, so readers should treat any named list as an expectation rather than a published designation.
The DCMS statement also says the government considered turnover, catalogue size, and content spend and type as alternative tests, but rejected them as less suitable for picking out the most popular services. The threshold will be kept under review.
Why are viewers’ habits driving the reform?
The government’s announcement cites Ofcom’s Media Nations 2025 report for its audience figures. As of the February 2026 announcement, 85% of UK adults used an on-demand service each month, compared with 67% who watched live TV. The announcement also says two thirds of households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+.
Those figures are the policy case in short: if most people now use on-demand services more than live television, rules written for scheduled broadcasting leave a large share of viewing outside the same standards.
What will the new standards code cover?
Tier 1 services will have to follow a new VoD standards code, which the government describes as similar to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. According to the announcement, it covers:
- protection from harmful or offensive material;
- privacy and fairness;
- accurate and impartial news reporting, including due impartiality and accuracy in news.
Audiences will be able to complain to Ofcom, which can investigate and act on breaches. The DCMS statement says the code comes into force one year after Ofcom publishes it, and that Ofcom will consult publicly on the code first. As of 4 November 2026, the detailed rules of the finished code should be checked on Ofcom’s website.
What are the accessibility targets, and how do they work in practice?
A separate VoD accessibility code sets minimum targets for Tier 1 services. Both government pages give the same figures: 80% of the catalogue subtitled, 10% audio-described and 5% signed. Services have four years to comply, with interim targets after two years, and the government says it expects many to go faster.
A simple worked example shows what the percentages mean. For an illustrative catalogue of 1,000 hours:
| Access feature | Minimum share | Hours in a 1,000-hour catalogue |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitled | 80% | 800 |
| Audio-described | 10% | 100 |
| Signed | 5% | 50 |
The catalogue size is invented for illustration; the percentages are the government’s. Real catalogues are far larger, and the government statement does not set out the interim two-year targets.
Who is outside the regime?
The DCMS statement lists several carve-outs, which is where most confusion arises:
- Services reached through video-sharing platforms. Users who access a VoD service through a user-to-user service, such as a video-sharing platform, do not count towards the 500,000 threshold.
- Individual channels on video-sharing platforms. These are exempt, though the exemption does not apply to commercial public service broadcasters’ channels on those platforms.
- BBC VoD services. Services such as BBC iPlayer are exempt for now. They remain under the Broadcasting Code through the BBC Framework Agreement, which the statement says is intended to be updated later to bring them under the standards code.
Does this regime apply to creators and their channels?
On the published wording, individual channels on video-sharing platforms are exempt from Tier 1 designation. A creator publishing to a platform such as YouTube is therefore not, by that fact alone, a Tier 1 service. This article’s own reading is that the carve-out is aimed at keeping the new regime on large, service-level providers; the government material does not discuss individual creators in more detail.
Creators are still subject to other UK rules, for example advertising and disclosure. Readers interested in how those work can see how the ASA handles complaints about influencer ads and how Ofcom promotes media literacy. For the wider industry picture, what the creative industries sector plan funds sets out the government’s investment priorities.
What happens next, and what is still uncertain?
According to the DCMS statement, once the regulations take effect Ofcom will identify which services are Tier 1 and consult publicly on both codes. It also says Ofcom published its first review of audience protection measures on 27 November 2025 and will carry out another review after Tier 1 regulation is implemented.
Several points remain open in the government’s published material: the final list of designated services, the final wording of the two codes, the interim accessibility targets and the date the BBC is brought within the standards code. Because the standards code applies one year after publication, the practical effect on what viewers see is likely to arrive gradually rather than all at once; that timing is this article’s reading of the stated schedule.
Conclusion: broadcaster-style rules reach the streaming shelf
The Tier 1 regime marks a shift from regulating by delivery method to regulating by audience size. For viewers, the visible changes should be a complaints route to Ofcom and more subtitled, described and signed content. For the industry, the open questions are the detail of the codes and the designation list. Creators on video-sharing platforms are, on the published wording, outside Tier 1, though the rules continue to develop. For how fast cultural moments travel across platforms, see what makes a moment go viral.
This article gives general information based on published UK government and legislative sources. It is not legal or regulatory advice, and rules and platform policies change.
Sources: GOV.UK (Statement on designation of Tier 1 video-on-demand (VoD) services); GOV.UK (UK’s video-on-demand services to have enhanced Ofcom regulation); legislation.gov.uk (Media Act 2024)
