Broadcasters urged to bring more productions to Scotland

Scotland’s Culture Secretary has urged broadcasters to bring more productions north of the border.

After meetings with the BBC, Channel 4 and regulator Ofcom this week, Angus Robertson has pushed for more investment in Scotland as the country’s screen industry continues to grow and plans to be worth £1 billion by the end of the decade.

Speaking after the meeting, 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.”

He also said he was “disappointed” in the decision of Ofcom to require Channel 4 to produce 12% of its hours outside of London – rising from 9% – in its public service licence renewal announced last month.

“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,” Mr Robertson said.

A spokesman for Channel 4 said: “We are fully committed to commissioning from across the nations and regions. Channel 4 aims to increase its commitment from 9% to 12% of main channel content spend and hours in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales by 2028, as part of its new 10-year licence – two years ahead of the channel’s 2030 quota requirement set by Ofcom.”

A spokesman for Ofcom said: “Ofcom’s decisions on a new broadcast licence for Channel 4 aim to secure public service broadcasting on the channel for the next 10 years.

“In addition to increasing Channel 4’s requirements for production outside of England, the new licence also: secures Channel 4’s distinctive role in the plurality of news in the UK, enables its investigative current affairs to have greater impact and, crucially, gives additional flexibility to support Channel 4’s digital transformation.

“We have been clear Channel 4 must, in the future, be much more open and transparent about its approach to commissioning and its impact in each individual nation of the UK.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We commission fairly, following the Ofcom guidance, and work with a wide range of brilliant production companies and talent.

“Our commissioning strategy has been a major driver of the development of the television production sector in Scotland.

“Powered by around £1 billion of BBC investment in Scottish production since 2014, we have made programmes loved by audiences, such as Shetland, Vigil and Guilt.

“Over that period, the funding has helped the creation of hundreds of jobs and boosted inward investment which has led to overall growth in the sector.

“We’ll continue to provide significant support to our creative partners, increasing the impact of our spend, on and off screen.”