The BBC and STV cut spending in Scotland by £13m last year. Spending dropped by 20% to £54m for viewers. BBC Scotland said it was reinvesting money is services following an efficiency drive - that will be the efficiency drive which pushed Lesley Riddoch out of their organisation. STV insisted it was increasing original programmes.
The Ofcom Scotland director Vicki Nash said the drop was the biggest of all four nations in the UK.
"Overall what we are concerned about, as the regulator, is to maintain the plurality of public service broadcasting," she said.
"The BBC will always be the cornerstone of public service broadcasting but we know one of the things particularly important to viewers in Scotland is they want choice."
Of course we want choice, who wouldn't.
The number of hours produced by both broadcasters increased last year yet despite this Mike Russell reiterated his call for a new Scottish digital channel, as called for by the government-backed Scottish Broadcasting Commission. He said he was "extremely disappointed' by the low level of programmes for viewers in Scotland and also by the low share of network programming made in Scotland.
The BBC said part of the reduced spending came from there being no General Election in 2008, while less was spent on sports rights. Interesting the BBC planned for a general election isn't it, although they stated previously the reduction in investment was due to an efficiency drive.
Some other points of interest in the report:
91% of Scottish households now have digital television.
Only 7% of households in Scotland have utilised catch up TV services such as the BBC iPlayer or the STV Player.
Glasgow still has the lowest take up of broadband in the country at 39%, Aberdeen has the highest at 73%.
86% of Scots have mobile phones. Glasgow has the highest percentage on pay as you go with 63%.
£10.36 is spent on each person in Scotland by TV companies. The UK average is £4.99.
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6 comments:
I thought that Fat Eck had taken over STV when I noticed that STV have ditched a lot of ITV network programmes and put on TV shortbread tin programmes instead!
(Tongue firmly in cheek!!)
Rab, I so seldom watch TV so I've never noticed. Keep your tongue in yer cheek - it suits you. :)
'Glasgow has the highest percentage on pay as you go with 63%.'
I'm not surprised. Half of them used to be mine.
Wakened up now Jim? I still smiled :)
Very political word is choice.
One of the important things to this viewer though is the quality and scheduling of quality programming. This is something which our "mainstream" television services are failing to deliver on. It has to be said as well that the quality of "scottish" programming is parlous to say the least. If the best is "Dear Green Place" and "River City" then the scottish broadcasting industry had better pull it's socks up.
Not surprised about the statistics about broadband and mobile phones, bearing in mind the ecconomic state of Glasgow.
Indeed it is Allan, never thought that until now.
I agree with you about quality, not nearly as good as it used to be. We tend to be clinging to 'old' styles and not modernising when, at one time, we were way ahead of the game.
Interesting about Glasgow, I would have thought Dundee was about the same level but of course the population is so much less.
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