News Analysis: British TV is no longer the best in the world, so is it time to let the Americans take over?

Powerful committee of Lords and MPs will today publish a report attacking plans to open up the ownership of terrestrial channels

In the prurient Reaganesque days of the early 1980s, it be-came the norm among some Hollywood TV studios to demand from their writers a moral tale at the end of every sitcom, a flash of cod wholesomeness that became known cynically as "the moment of shit".

At the same time in Britain, The Young Ones were breaking the mould with anarchic humour that fed off similar socio-economic values – Thatcherism – rather than pandering to them. The difference? When conservative values were in the ascendancy, the US programme makers had to roll over to the demands of advertisers trying to appeal to an increasingly right-wing audience. In Britain, at the BBC, there were no such considerations.

It was a moment to bask in the warm glow of Britishness and to repeat – ad nauseum, as it happened – that British television was the best in the world.

Today, a committee chaired by Lord Puttnam of Queensgate will present its recommendations on the Comm- unications Bill, a piece of proposed legislation that would liberalise the media in Britain and which, in the process, might clear the way for US television companies to buy huge chunks of the UK's airwaves.

The prospect of what has become known as "creeping Americanisation" has appalled many backbench MPs. What would happen if Rupert Murdoch got his hands on Channel 5, which, under the proposed legislation, he could? Would it become a dumping ground for US-made Sky and Fox television cast-offs?

If AOL Time Warner bought Granada, would we be waving goodbye to Coronation Street and hello to a raft of programmes made by its own hand? Are we to see the end of Channel 4's highbrow output and an introduction to more of Hollywood's crime-obsessed blockbusters, a world where you get more bangs – and shootings, and violence – for your buck? And what about re-runs? Twenty years on, after laughing for the wrong reasons at those moments of shit, are they to become our staple diet?

Before answering those questions, it is important to be clear about one thing. As it stands, British television is no longer the best in the world.

Producers generally acknowledge that, at its best, it can still compete with the cream of the small screen in the fields of documentary making, factual film and costume drama. But the country from which most of that competition now comes is the United States.

At its best, American television is peerless. From Hill Street Blues, LA Law, Thirtysomething, ER and The X-Files during the 1980s and 1990s, to The Sopranos, Sex And The City, The West Wing, 24 and Six Feet Under, the writing is better than ours, the production slicker, and the time – and hence, money – spent on making television programmes greater. And it shows. All that without even mentioning the comedy – Friends, Frasier, Spin City, Cheers.

The fear, then, is not of being shown the best of American television but the worst of it. Like the worst of British television – and much of it falls into that category in the current schedules – the worst of America's output is dreadful. At the moment, we are spared it simply because British companies such as Carlton, Granada and Channel 4 don't buy it. If those channels were acquired by the Americans, would they serve it up as cheap entertainment?

"There is a possibility that we would be force-fed some American programmes by a hypothetical American owner," said Nick Bertolotti, media analyst at JP Morgan. "There is a chance that a company like AOL would want a UK channel to buy products from Warner. Similarly with Channel 5; if Rupert Murdoch bought it, and I think he'd love to have it, I suspect he may put Sky One programmes on there without the paid-for movies and sports.

"But whoever bought the channels, there is one simple truth that would prevent them dumping junk on them; if the viewers did not like what they saw, they'd turn to another channel. If a US company bought ITV, we would still have Coronation Street because it's the channel's most popular programme, and that's what it comes down to – viewers."

Like many other observers, Mr Bertolotti is keen to see what today's committee report recommends by way of checks and balances to ensure any new owners provide minimum levels of regional programming, news and home-grown programmes. The checks will be monitored by Ofcom, which will replace the five existing supervisory bodies.

Lucy Rouse, the editor of Broadcast magazine, is among those unfazed by the prospect of further Americanisation. "At the moment, the BBC, the ITV companies and Channels 4 and 5 have to produce a high level of UK-originated programmes," she said. "They will still have to do that in spite of the new ownership rules.

"My only concern is that over time these safeguards may be eroded. That is something that Ofcom must keep an eye on. Apart from that, I think much of the reaction is kneejerk. There is still a huge reservoir of talent in the UK, but it does not always attract the investment it deserves.

"Perhaps with the American companies, that investment might be forthcoming."

Much has been written in recent months about whether Lord Puttnam's committee is in favour of investment or against it. It is understood Lord Puttnam will say today that the members are not opposed to inward investment provided it complies with five economic criteria to be specified. And that support comes even though the US will not allow European investors to buy its TV interests.

One member said: "There are compelling arguments in favour of allowing US investment without reciprocity. No one thinks, for example, that an American newspaper company that bought, say, the Daily Mail, would fill its news pages with items from Los Angeles, because no one in the UK would read it. Well, television is the same."

That is an assumption on which independent British production companies are banking.

Liz Warner is the former Channel 4 commissioning editor who brought us Big Brother. She now runs her own production company, Betty TV, and, like other independents, is waiting to see what the committee says.

"My main concern is about the checks on overseas owners, not just checks on the amount of home-grown television the stations must make, but also on the freedom that will be given to programme makers away from the influence of advertisers," she said. "I think the investment that could come in would be a good thing, but I think it will all be about viewer expectation and the desire on the part of the companies to make better television."

Until the full recommendations are unveiled today, it is difficult to see where British television will go. Yesterday, Lord Puttnam was anxious not to be judged on rumour and speculation.

He said: "We have come up with a package of recommendations which, if taken in totality and adopted by the Government, will result in a genuine improvement across the entire media spectrum." He would not discuss the recommendations in detail but he said they represented "the best news there has ever been for British programme makers".

Screen statistics

The American Way: The West Wing

*The series focusing on the backroom boys and girls of President Josiah Bartlet's White House was an instant hit in the US but proved more of a slow-burn success in Britain, where it enjoys a small but highly addicted cult audience.

It made a clean sweep at this year's Emmys and is praised for its intelligent, liberal approach to politics and deft characterisation. But many thought the special show screened shortly after 11 September failed to articulate America's mood.

Production cost per episode: At least £1m

Pay for lead actors per episode: £210,000

Number of writers: Between 6 and 12

Average British audience: Between 1.3 and 1.5 million

The British Way: Cold Feet

*Showered with critical acclaim and industry awards, Granada's slick but light-hearted drama centring on the lives of a group of aspirational twenty and thirtysomethings in Manchester has proved one of ITV's most consistent ratings-winners. Cold Feet's success has turned at least three of the cast, Helen Baxendale, James Nesbitt and John Thompson, into household names. Baxendale was cast in episodes of Friends, the United States' top-rated television show.

Production cost per episode: £750,000

Pay for lead actors per episode: £75,000

Number of writers: 1

Average British audience: 8-10 million