Now BBC puts back launch of its £32m a year Scots channel
BBC chiefs have delayed the launch of a Scottish television channel to February next year.
The broadcaster was recently granted provisional approval by regulators for the channel, which will have a budget of around £32million a year.
It was due to be launched this autumn but BBC executives decided to postpone it to make sure the channel is ‘right’ before it goes live.
Regulator Ofcom said the channel ‘would justify any potential adverse effects on fair and effective competition’.
But concerns have been raised that the number of staff needed for it will ‘distort’ Scotland’s media industry.
BBC chiefs said the channel will include a flagship hourlong news bulletin covering ‘international, UK and Scottish stories, told from a Scottish perspective’. Around half of the shows will be repeats.
Ofcom will make a final decision this July on the launch of the service, which will be on air between 7pm and midnight every day, following a consultation period.
BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon said: ‘In deciding when to launch, we looked at a number of options, including late autumn and around Christmas time, but we concluded that coming on air early in the new year is the best option for us, audiences and our suppliers.
‘We took into consideration programme development and production time and audience trends during holidays – especially around Christmas.
‘Getting the channel right is preferable to simply getting it on air as quickly as possible and having some additional time after final approval should be beneficial.’
Pilots for the channel’s 9pm news programme have begun, with the hiring of around 80 staff under way.
Ofcom believes the channel will attract only around 4 per cent of Scottish viewers at most, in part because of intense competition.
The BBC dominates viewing in Scotland, with a 32 per cent audience share overall.
Ofcom said it could still decide to launch a fresh competition assessment if any evidence came to light that the channel was unfairly affecting its rivals.
The BBC has often come under pressure from senior SNP figure including former leader Alex Salmond to increase Scots programming.
Mr Salmond previously demanded BBC One broadcast a so-called Scottish Six news programme in place of the UK network’s Six O’Clock News.
The early 2019 launch avoids a clash with the announcement of the festive season TV schedules.
Last month, Ofcom said the service ‘will deliver public value for the audience’ and ‘make a valuable contribution to the BBC’s public purposes’ as well as broadening the news options available to Scots.
It found that the proposal is ‘unlikely to have a substantial effect on competition’.
It comes just a week after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Glasgow would be the ‘perfect place’ for Channel 4’s new headquarters.
The broadcaster is searching for a base and two other hubs outside London, with plans to relocate hundreds of jobs to the new sites.