The BBC has announced the launch of a brand new £30m Scottish TV channel, barely a year after culling BBC Three to make savings of £30m.
The new channel, which will broadcast between the hours of 7 pm and midnight, will hit the airwaves in the autumn of 2018. It will feature an hour-long 9 pm news programme focussing on stories from north of the border.
Tony Hall, the BBC Director General, announced the plans to staff during a visit to BBC Scotland headquarters at Pacific Quay, Glasgow. He also pledged an increase of £20m in the amount spent on original Scottish drama and factual programming.
The as yet unnamed channel will replace Scottish programmes currently shown on BBC Two.
In a statement, Hall said: "I said at the beginning of the year that the BBC needed to be more creative and distinctive. The BBC is Britain’s broadcaster, but we also need to do more for each nation just as we are doing more for Britain globally.
"We know that viewers in Scotland love BBC television, but we also know that they want us to better reflect their lives and better reflect modern Scotland. It is vital that we get this right. The best way of achieving that is a dedicated channel for Scotland.
"The additional investment in Scottish drama and factual programming rightly recognises both the need to do more across our output and the huge pool of talent available in Scotland. We do make great programmes here, such as Shetland, Britain’s Ancient Capital – Secrets of Orkney, Two Doors Down and the brilliant Still Game – but we do need to do more."
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The Scottish Government has long be campaigning for increased BBC investment in Scotland.
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, said: "While the increased investment in both journalism and wider production in Scotland is long overdue, this is a very positive development. [It is] vital that the new BBC Scotland channel has complete commission and editorial independence, and is provided with the funding needed to match ambition."
The introduction of the new channel will mean that almost three-quarters of Scottish TV licence revenue will be spent on programmes aimed at the Scottish audience.
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2 comments:
If we're getting more of Wee Jock McPlop on telly then I'll not be tuning it!
There we have it, the government want the TV TaX TO CONTINUE, AND IT is A TAX. How long before they extend it beyond I Player to ALL Streaming?
The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Abolish the tv licence, it shouldn't be a legal requirement.”.
Government responded:
A licence is required in order to watch all live or nearly-live television content on any device in the UK or to stream or download any programmes in an on-demand programme service provided by the BBC
The BBC Charter Review, which commenced in 2015, was one of the biggest consultation exercises the government has undertaken. We listened to views of the public and industry (including 192,000 consultation responses), set out detailed policy proposals in the White Paper in May 2016, and worked closely and collaboratively with the BBC and Ofcom to negotiate the new Charter and Framework Agreement.
Throughout the Charter Review, the Government considered the question of funding the BBC’s services, and decided that the licence fee system will be maintained for the coming Charter period.
In maintaining the licence fee model, the government is clear that the licence fee remains a licence to watch or receive television programmes, and is not a fee for BBC services – although licence fee revenue is used to fund the BBC and other public service objectives.
While no system of funding meets all the criteria of an ideal funding system, the current system provides the BBC with a sustainable core income paid by all households who watch or receive television, and it commands wider public support than any alternative model. As stated above, revenue from the TV licence fee is also used to fund other services such as Welsh broadcaster S4C and infrastructure projects such as the delivery of superfast broadband.
In line with the recommendations of the TV Licence Fee Enforcement Review, while the current licence fee collection system is in operation, the current system of criminal deterrence and prosecution should be maintained. Whilst the government agrees with the review’s assessment that decriminalisation is not possible under the current system, we believe that it would be preferable in the long term to make changes which reduce the necessity of the criminal sanction, such as exploring the options for conditional access.
The TV licence fee has been frozen since 2010, and the government has agreed to increase the fee in line with inflation for the next five years. However, the government also intends to help those on lower incomes by making the licence fee easier to pay through proposals to provide more flexible payment plans.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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