The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that independent film productions will benefit from a new tax relief uplift. The Independent Film Tax Credit enables productions with budgets up to £15m to benefit from a relief of 53% on qualifying expenditure, while films with a budget up to £23.5m will benefit from a tapered relief. To qualify, the projects must have a UK writer or director, or be certified as an official UK co-production. In addition, they must have started principal photography on or after 1 April 2024, and only expenditures incurred on or after that date can be claimed.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced a forthcoming consultation on banning unlicensed gambling operators from sponsoring British sports clubs, including Premier League teams, as part of a wider crackdown on the illegal gambling market. The proposed ban would prevent companies without a Gambling Commission licence from entering into sponsorship agreements, on the basis that brand visibility through high-profile clubs may direct consumers to unregulated sites that do not comply with requirements on financial vulnerability checks, responsible advertising, fair terms or data protection, and which have been linked to organised crime. Although clubs are not currently acting unlawfully where such operators are not accessible to UK consumers, ministers consider that prohibiting sponsorship would reduce consumer risk and prevent unfair competition with licensed firms. Alongside the consultation, the government has established an Illegal Gambling Taskforce, led by Gambling Minister, Baroness Twycross and involving social media companies, payment providers, gambling bodies and law enforcement agencies, to prevent illegal advertising, block payments to unlicensed sites and improve cross-agency cooperation, as part of broader measures to reduce gambling-related harm.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), with support from the Association of Independent Music (AIM), has developed new industry principles for music creator remuneration. The measures, adopted by UK divisions of Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music, include provisions to disregard certain unrecouped advances, establish contract renegotiation pathways, and implement minimum session musician fees as agreed between BPI and Musicians' Union in December 2024. DCMS will assess implementation over 12 months, with the package aiming to deliver £10m per year in new investment by 2030 through the Music Growth Package.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that the government will prepare primary legislation requiring major technology companies to introduce device-level protections to prevent under-18s from taking, viewing or sharing nude images. In a statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy MP, said that the government would also explore legislation requiring apps used by children to prevent access to and sharing of nudity. The proposed measures are intended to address online grooming, coercion, sexual extortion and the creation and distribution of self-generated child sexual abuse imagery. The government’s proposed approach is that nude images should be blocked across device features, including cameras and third-party apps, with nudity detection enabled by default. Users seeking to take, view or share nude images would need to verify that they are adults through a robust age-assurance process.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced that it will extend statutory regulation to additional television electronic programme guides (EPGs), to address gaps in audience protection arising from the growth of internet delivered services. Using powers under section 211A of the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003), the government will introduce secondary legislation to regulate all EPGs provided by operators that already run regulated guides, namely Everyone TV, Sky, Virgin Media and YouView, and to bring within scope portal EPG services accessible through regulated platforms. This will ensure that content accessed via television sets is subject to consistent standards and oversight by Ofcom, including requirements relating to harmful content, due accuracy and impartiality in news, accessibility, public service prominence and fair treatment of channels.

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation on proposals to ban unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising in Great Britain across all sectors, including sport. The government proposes using secondary legislation under the Gambling Act 2005 to make it a criminal offence to participate in or facilitate advertising or sponsorship by gambling operators not licensed by the Gambling Commission when operating in Great Britain, citing objectives including consumer protection, maintaining the integrity of the domestic gambling market and addressing money-laundering vulnerabilities in football. The consultation closes on 9 September 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a green paper and launched a consultation on the future of UK media, public service media (PSM), television distribution and regulation. The green paper comments on changing viewing habits, the growth of online platforms and concerns about the long-term sustainability and accessibility of trusted news and high-quality UK television content. Accordingly, measures are proposed to support a healthy information environment, maintain access to trusted and high-quality television content and modernise the PSM framework. These include prominence requirements for trustworthy news content on social media, a new media literacy duty for PSM providers, a joint media literacy initiative across the media and technology sectors and reforms to ensure PSM content remains accessible and discoverable on third-party platforms. The consultation also seeks views on a future PSM system that better reflects changing audience behaviour and digital consumption patterns. The consultation closes on 31 August 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators intended to strengthen player protections and improve the accountability of prize draw operators. The code establishes industry standards, including: (1) a £250 monthly cap on credit card entries for prize draws and a complete ban on credit card entries for instant-win competitions; (2) a commitment to ensure that free entry routes are clearly publicised and accessible and (3) measures for operators to identify and mitigate potential harm. Prize draws do not currently require a licence under the Gambling Act 2005 (GA 2005) as they offer free entry routes. More than 20 operators, including Omaze, Best of the Best and Raffle House have signed up to the code, with signatories given six months to implement its provisions.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation seeking views on further amendments to the Enterprise Act 2002 regarding foreign state ownership of UK newspapers. The consultation follows May 2025 regulations allowing sovereign wealth funds to hold up to 15% of shares in UK newspapers, implementing the Foreign State Influence regime that took effect from March 2024. The consultation aims to clarify exception scopes and improve regime effectiveness. Responses are due by 16 September 2025.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to Gambling Commission fees, with implementation scheduled for 1 October 2026. The consultation outlines three options for increasing operating licence fee levels. These increases will determine the extent to which the Gambling Commission can recover its costs and effectively exercise its functions. Informed by advice and data supplied by the Gambling Commission, the consultation seeks to clarify the priorities for allocating its resources. The consultation will close on 29 March 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a review of the UK radio industry to secure its long term sustainability as listening shifts to digital platforms. Nearly 75% of listening now takes place online, while more than 85% of adults tune in each week. The government will work with the BBC, commercial radio and other industry partners to examine changes in listener behaviour, market trends and technological developments, including artificial intelligence. The review will consider whether a managed transition away from FM broadcasting should take place in the 2030s and assess the potential impact of decisions on Digital Terrestrial Television for radio distribution. It follows the 2021 Radio and Audio Review, which recommended revisiting the possibility of an analogue switch off in 2026. The review will report in autumn 2026 and will inform further policy development and the BBC Charter Review.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has laid secondary legislation to implement the Media Act 2024, bringing video-on-demand services with over 500,000 UK users under enhanced Ofcom regulation. Services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX and Channel 4 will be designated as 'Tier 1' services, requiring compliance with new VoD standards and accessibility codes similar to traditional broadcaster requirements. The standards code will mandate accurate and impartial news reporting and protection against harmful content, while the accessibility code requires 80% of catalogue content to be subtitled, 10% audio-described, and 5% signed. Ofcom will gain enforcement powers including financial penalties up to £250,000 or 5% of qualifying revenue per breach. The standards code will take effect one year after Ofcom publication, while accessibility requirements must be met within four years with interim targets after two years. Ofcom will shortly commence public consultation on both codes.