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The biggest streaming services — Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video — must follow similar rules to traditional broadcasters for the first time. Under new legislation introduced by the UK Government, industry regulator Ofcom will now oversee streamers. It will have the power to accept viewer complaints and investigate streaming platforms for breaches of its code, as it currently does with all broadcast television in the UK.
The shake-up will also apply to video on-demand services from broadcasters, like Channel 4 and ITVX.
If the legislation passes, any video-on-demand platform (VoD) with more than 500,000 users will automatically be designated a so-called “Tier 1” service, bringing them under a new VoD standards code, which shares a lot of DNA with the Broadcasting Code followed by traditional broadcasters, such as the BBC, ITV, and yours truly.
One of the rules set-out by Ofcom requires 80% of the total streaming catalogue to be subtitled, 10% to be audio-described, and 5% to offer sign-language to improve accessibility.
Once the only streamer in town, Netflix has been forced to increase its own output as some of the biggest Hollywood studios reclaimed their licensed content to stock-up their own rival streamers | NETFLIX PRESS OFFICE Like the Online Safety Act introduced last summer, this change only applies in the UK.
If you're abroad and launch Netflix or Disney+, the selection of shows, films, and sports fixtures available to watch will not be regulated by the so-called "enhanced regulation" from Ofcom.
While there has long been a difference in the selection of titles available to stream for those in the UK, mainland Europe, and the rest of the world with these streamers, this has only ever been a result of complex licensing agreements and exclusivity deals across different regions worldwide.
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For the first time, Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video could make alterations to the catalogue available to stream in the UK because of rules enforced by an industry watchdog.
With the arrival of the Online Safety Act, Britons turned to VPNs in record numbers. It's unclear whether the new regulations for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ will trigger the same influx of new subscribers to the best VPN deals.
When you connect to a VPN, everything you do online is re-routed via the provider's servers.
Ofcom already regulates broadcast teelvision channels, home phone and mobile services, as well as broadband
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If you choose a VPN server in the same country, this serves as a way to encrypt and mask everything you do online, including the websites you visit, the amount of time spent on each service, and much more.
If you choose a server based in another country, VPNs can make it appear as if you're located outside of the UK — beyond the jurisdiction of the new Ofcom regulations for streamers and the content blocks of the Online Safety Act.
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By picking a VPN server in another country, websites can no longer detect that you're browsing from within the UK, so these rules, restrictions, and checks vanish. It's no different to what would happen if you jumped on a plane on holiday and tried to log in to any of these services from abroad. It's comparable to using a foreign phone box rather than your own mobile – the recipient can't identify your true location or identity.
The new Ofcom regulations do include an exemption for VoD services provided by the BBC, such as BBC iPlayer, as these services will continue to be regulated under the Broadcasting Code via BBC Framework Agreement for now.
Until now, only licensed television channels were obliged to comply with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code and accessibility requirements, such as subtitles, but many of the UK’s most popular streaming services were not regulated to the same standard, with some not regulated in the UK at all.
It is intended that BBC UK VoD services will, in due course, be brought under the VoD standards code at the same time as other Tier 1 services. The new legislation aims to ensure that news is reported accurately and impartially and audiences are protected against “harmful or offensive” material.
Audiences will be able to complain to Ofcom and if it considers there has been a breach of the code it will have the power to take action.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “We know that the way audiences watch TV has fundamentally changed. Millions now choose to watch content on video-on-demand platforms alongside or, in the case of many young people, instead of traditional TV.
“The Media Act introduced vital updates to our regulatory framework which this Government is committed to implementing. By bringing the most popular video-on-demand services under enhanced regulation by Ofcom, we are strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting our vibrant media sector that continues to innovate and drive growth across the UK.”
There will be a public consultation to establish the video-on-demand standards code, giving the public and streamers the chance to put forward their views on what should be included.
The standards code will then come into effect one year after it is published by Ofcom. The move comes as increasing numbers of viewers are abandoning traditional television for on-demand streaming platforms.
Two-thirds of households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+, with 85% of people using an on-demand service each month, compared with 67% who watch live TV, according to Ofcom’s 2025 Media Nations report.
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