Can a new Scottish TV station increase coverage of the Edinburgh Festival ?

The Scottish Broadcasting Commission reported today, and recommended the setting up of a new Scottish network TV station and a major review of BBC Scotland and Radio Scotland.One of the major areas it covered was the cultural output, what it calls creative Scotland.In the evidence given to the Commission many people remarked on the failure of the BBC to properly cover cultural events in Scotland and Ian Macwhirter one of Scotlands leading journalist said it was a disgrace that the Edinburgh Festival was largely ignored by the BBC, three half hour programmes over 3 weeks is not exactly comprehensive coverage!Their suggestion is for a new network tv station maybe called Scottish Network TV funded from the money available from the BBC licence fee which is not being spent in Scotland, we get only 3% of BBC revenue spent in Scotland despite raising 9% of the licence fee.They suggest this channel should be seriously funded up, to 75 million pounds a year and should produce quality programmes in news, current affairs and the arts which reflect Scottish life.Clearly a major coverage of the Edinburgh Festival would provide part of this output including transmission of Festival concerts and operas.They also make serious criticism of Radio Scotland and suggest it should improve its coverage of Scottish cultural life.The report has been welcomed by Alec Salmond but also by BBC Scotland and even David Cairns the Labour Scottish Office minister so it looks like it could happen by 2010 when the digital switchover of TV occurs.It could just be that cultural life in Scotland could get much more interesting and while nothing beats attendance at live music events for many who cant make the Festival, the greatest arts festival in the world could come a little closer to them.

Advertisement