As the UK regulator responsible for overseeing content broadcast on TV, radio and video on-demand (VoD), Ofcom handles thousands of complaints from viewers and listeners every year, covering a range of issues.
We regulate all broadcasters licensed in the UK (as well as VoD services), but we handle complaints about BBC content in a different way to those about other broadcasters.
So, we wanted to explain that approach here.
The BBC First process
Ofcom has been the first fully independent regulator of the BBC since 2017. Before then, we had a more limited remit for BBC content and we shared regulatory responsibilities with the BBC Trust, the former governing body of the BBC that was operationally independent of the BBC itself.
Although the BBC is now regulated by Ofcom, under the BBC Charter and Agreement approved by the UK Parliament we consider complaints about BBC content through a process called ‘BBC First’. This means that people must normally complain to the BBC first before they can escalate their complaint to us.
But what does this process mean, and why is it in place?
Other than in exceptional circumstances (for example if the BBC broadcast content involving potentially serious harm to the public), Ofcom can only consider complaints where the complainant has completed the BBC’s complaints process first.
Unlike complaints from audiences about editorial standards (such as harm and offence), Ofcom also has a role adjudicating on complaints from people or organisations participating in, or otherwise directly affected by, programmes as they are broadcast, or in the making of programmes (see here for more details). These are known as ‘Fairness and Privacy’ complaints and such complaints can be made to Ofcom directly without the complainant contacting the BBC first.
The BBC sets out its principles for dealing with complaints as follows:
- The process should be easy to understand, accessible and take a reasonable amount of time.
- The process should be proportionate, balancing the cost to licence-fee payers with the need to give complainants a proper hearing.
- Where the BBC agrees it is at fault, it will say so and take action to correct it.
- Everybody who complains should know what they can expect from the BBC and how to appeal if they want to.
There are several stages within the BBC’s complaints process and it’s usual for a complainant to escalate their complaint a number of times within the BBC if they remain dissatisfied with the responses. After considering a complaint, if the BBC agrees that it’s got something wrong it can respond in a number of ways. It could change the way it does something, issue an apology, publish a correction or clarification, or provide the complainant with a reply.
However, if a complainant isn’t satisfied with the BBC’s response to their complaint after it has gone through the necessary stages, that’s when they can contact Ofcom.
Complaining to Ofcom after complaining to the BBC
If somebody complains to the BBC but hasn’t received a response within the BBC’s own deadlines, if they’re unhappy with the response they’ve received, or if they feel exceptional circumstances apply, then they can complain directly to Ofcom.
We will then assess the complaint in the same way as we assess other broadcast complaints, to see if our rules might have been broken and we need to investigate.
If we decide to investigate, we’ll include the case in a list of our new investigations, published in our Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin. And if we decide the complaint doesn't warrant further investigation, we'll close the complaint and publish a record of this, also in the Bulletin.
The BBC First system applies to audience complaints about BBC TV, Radio, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds content. We also currently have a more limited role in relation to BBC Online Material. However, following the publication in January 2024 by the then Government of the Mid-Term Review of the BBC, Ofcom is due to be given new powers to regulate the BBC’s online material in the same way as we currently do for the BBC’s broadcast and on demand content.
Ofcom has a role ensuring the BBC First process is working properly for audiences. We have therefore today published mystery shopping research into the BBC’s complaints handling. Overall, this research indicates that changes the BBC has made to its complaints process following a 2022 periodic review we conducted into the BBC are delivering well for audiences. We are pleased to see the BBC has implemented our recommendations from that review.
Find out more about how Ofcom deals with BBC complaints.