Culture Secretary meets BBC, Channel 4 and Ofcom.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has urged UK broadcasters and regulators to support Scotland’s creative industries by increasing commissioning and representation for businesses and audiences north of the border.
In a series of meetings in London yesterday with BBC, Channel 4 and Ofcom, the Cabinet Secretary said that improving the commissioning process was key to achieving more authentic Scottish representation on UK TV screens.
Scotland’s screen sector has ambitious growth plans, with a target of contributing more than £1 billion to the Scottish economy by 2030.
Mr Robertson said:
“In recent years, public service broadcasters have made good progress on their commitments to improve their presence and representation outside of London, including the opening of Channel 4’s creative hub in Glasgow in 2019 and the commissioning of programmes like Granite Harbour, set in Aberdeen.
“But there is much more to do.
“Scotland has a huge array of talented producers and creative teams that can bring new ideas and new perspectives to UK audiences, and this must not be overlooked by those making commissioning decisions in London.
“The spirit of production quotas should be fully embraced to ensure a strong, sustainable future for broadcasting in Scotland.
“That is why I am deeply disappointed with Ofcom’s recent decision to require Channel 4 – as part of their new licence conditions – to only spend 12% of their production budget outside of England.
“All parties, including public service broadcasters, Ofcom, governments and screen agencies, like Screen Scotland, must work in partnership so that investment benefits all nations fairly and supports the growth of creative industries across the UK.”
