Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Former BBC boss says UK faces ‘total loss of culture sovereignty’

Former BBC boss says UK faces ‘total loss of culture sovereignty’

Mark Thompson warns firms such as Netflix will dominate media unless government acts. Stupid. Only in totalitarian countries Government sensor the exposure to external cultures. The solution to the problem should be to replace those old-fashion and out-dated culture designers with young, fresh and super talented British culture-makers. Mr. Thompson left the BBC to work for the American New York times, and now he is complaining why the American culture is dominating UK.

The former BBC director general Mark Thompson believes the UK is facing “a total loss of culture sovereignty” which will leave the country increasingly divided unless the government acts now to fund public service journalism and stop US companies such as Netflix from dominating the media landscape.

Thompson left the BBC in 2012 to become chief executive of the New York Times, where he has helped turn the once-struggling newspaper into a digital success. He suggests that unless viewers recognise “your language, your life experience, your community in the prevailing culture” then they lose their sense of individual and collective agency, which plays into issues such as Brexit.

“No one wants to see the UK turn into a cultural Airstrip One, but it’s a clear and present danger. With newspapers struggling and broadcasters outgunned, I fear only effective and salient government media policy stands between Britain and a total loss of cultural sovereignty,” he will tell an audience at the Steve Hewlett memorial lecture in London on Tuesday night.

“Though the digital giants do a great job of providing quality content, it is surely of overwhelming importance that British audiences still get access to great news, drama, comedy, documentary made first and foremost for them and them alone.”

“A society which fails to provide its different communities and groups with the means to listen and come to understand each other’s pasts and presents shouldn’t be surprised if mutual incomprehension and division are the consequence. If you doubt that any of this connects to real-world politics and national well-being, you need to pay more attention.”

The former BBC boss said that during discussions in 2007 to launch the iPlayer streaming service, he met Netflix’s founder, Reed Hastings, who offered some stark advice: “I don’t know why you’re bothering Mark, you’ll never beat my algorithm. Why not just give us all your content instead?”

Thompson also bemoaned the 2009 decision, made on competition grounds, to stop the main British broadcasters joining together to launch an online streaming service codenamed Project Kangaroo, allowing Netflix to sweep in and dominate the British market. He predicts that a forthcoming recession will wipe out swathes of remaining local newspapers across North America and Europe, leaving large towns and cities without any coverage of local politics.

Thompson will deliver his speech in the aftermath of this weekend’s Emmy awards, where shows created by Britons such as Fleabag, Chernobyl, and Killing Eve with UK writers, directors and producers won award after award. There is also a national shortage of studio space in the UK, as production companies come to Britain to take advantage of tax breaks and Netflix has said it will spend $500m on UK programmes this year.

However, almost all the British Emmy-winning shows were co-productions involving US broadcasters and Thompson said the likes of the BBC and Channel 4 would struggle to arrange similar deals in the future. “For now it makes sense for the streamers to co-produce and share rights in the country of product. Don’t expect that to last. Soon they’ll want it all.”

Although the New York Times has seen a surge in the number of digital subscriptions to 5m, with digital revenue heading towards $800m a year, few industry expect believe this model can be replicated on a mass scale. Thompson also urged media companies to stop blaming Facebook and Google for their woes, saying the internet cannot be uninvented and companies need to work with the reality on the ground.

Thompson in his speech will urge increased public funding for some parts of the media, more support for the BBC and government co-ordination on policy: “Here more than anywhere time is running out. So act now.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×