How the arts can use online platforms to reach global audiences

Creators, streamers, museums and galleries are building direct to consumer channels.

One of the semi-regular conversations in UK broadcasting is the state of the arts, especially what is commissioned by the public service broadcasters. Going back decades, there have been numerous reports and opinion pieces best summarised as a worry that the amount of money allocated to the arts is declining, combined with a view that the available money hasn’t being correctly allocated. To give a flavour, here are just two articles, one from 2012 and one from 2024.

• BBC spends less on arts as quotas for ‘at risk’ genres dropped

• Broadcasters 'spending less on arts', says Ofcom.

In general, the concern seems to be that too much of broadcaster arts budgets are being spent on commercial popular events such as Glastonbury and the Proms, or output that is perceived to be too populist in nature. And critics perceive this comes at the expense of less commercial, more niche and perhaps more intellectually weighty arts such as literature, opera, dance, art history and the like.

In response, the broadcasters outline the reality of budget pressures, plus their desire and responsibility to make shows that have broad appeal. They also point to the breadth of their commissioning strategies; for example here is the BBC Arts commissioning page and here is Channel 4’s Specialist Factual commissioning page which includes the arts.

Against this backdrop, the arts have evolved over the past couple of decades especially how broadcasters, organisations and individual artists use online platforms to reach global audiences, as well as build revenue streams.