BBC to pull plug on Scotland 2016
Flagship show is biggest casualty in bid to cut costs
BBC Scotland i s to axe i ts flagship current affairs shows as it battles a cash crisis.
A major overhaul, announced to staff in meetings yesterday, will see television and radio programmes vanish from screens and the airwaves.
One of the biggest changes will see the closure of the nightly Scotland 2016 show, which was introduced in the run-up to the independence referendum in place of Newsnight Scotland. The programme, fronted by Shelley Jofre, will be replaced by a weekly current affairs show.
There will also be big changes to Radio Scotland’s output, with the weekly politics show The Big Debate scrapped along with the Saturday morning Business Scotland programme.
A memo to staff, seen by the Scottish Daily Mail, admits the broadcaster needs ‘to save some money’ and ‘live within our means’. The corporation declined to disclose how much it plans to save but one source claimed there is a £1million deficit.
Head of news and current affairs, Gary Smith, insisted in his memo there will be no ‘permanent post closures’ but said some short-term contracts are due to end this year.
Scotland 2016 is thought to be watched by only around 30,000 people each night. The STV rival programme, Scotland Tonight, is widely considered a more accessible show.
Viewers should still be able to watch the UK-wide Newsnight show, although there will be no return of the Scottish opt- out section, dubbed Newsnicht.
The broadcaster’s main news bulletin, Reporting Scotland, is to be ‘newsier’ with fewer ‘soft’ features as part of the overhaul.
However, no decision has been made on plans for a ‘Scottish Six’ to replace the UK-wide 6pm bulletin. Pilot shows have been commissioned but a final decision is not expected for some time.
In his memo, Mr Smith wrote: ‘I’ve outlined a new strategy for BBC News in Scotland. It’s centred round creating a digital first newsroom, reaching underserved audiences, and enhancing our core output.
‘To meet the challenges we face from new technology, changing audience needs and an increasingly competitive news industry, we need to make changes – to our programmes, content and leadership structure. We also need to save some money.
‘There are no permanent post closures. Some short-term contracts are due to end later this year, but we’ll do everything we can to find ongoing roles for those affected.
‘ I’m proposing some changes, including closing some programmes and adapting t o where our audiences are. We’ve become overstretched, with reductions in staffing but not in output. It’s time to live within our means and focus on our core programmes.’
Scotland 2016 will return after a summer break and ‘ continue until we’re happy we’re ready to launch a new [weekly] programme’.
Addressing radio shows, Mr Smith said: ‘We’re proposing to close The Big Debate and Business Scotland.
‘I’ve heard how overstretched the radio news teams are and i t’s clear that we need to redirect staffing and effort into our core programmes.’
Online, BBC Scotland will stop its ‘daily live page’ and move its staff to ‘beef up’ a social media team.
As promised as part of the broadcaster’s Charter renewal, Mr Smith added: ‘ We’re also introducing a Scotland edition of the news home page, so that the editorial decisions are made here in Scotland.’