BBC Network news - no longer relevant for the nations?

That's a welcome move. I think a logical split would be:

City
Inner London
Outer London
South
South East

This is getting silly, I don't know why not Acacia Avenue TV? The potential audience would just be too small.
The local TV companies, as we've discussed endlessly before, is very expensive and if it can't work at city level it certainly won't work even smaller. Take local newsprint - five to ten years ago they were still popular but now with consolidation thanks to there owners now are not much better than a primary school leaflet. You'd think with Covid they would have made a real effort but no. Still all the provincial stories - pot holes / parking charges etc. Sometimes even pictures published on their side with no information - I saw one once that said 'Quote here'... We are left with an historic regional TV pattern whether we like it or not. As a former London worker living near Henley years ago, the London services were relevant. I think a lot of viewers with loyalty to any service probably think the same.

The Channel Islands don’t get much coverage on the “National” news, but at least they have their own regional news. The Isle of Man licence fee payers must be the worst served. They are nominally covered by BBC North West and Granada but rarely get a look in, though I have noticed more coverage recently.

I’ve wondered whether the BBC should create an “Isle of Man and Channel Islands” region. Whilst the islands aren’t close, there are some similarities due to all being Crown Dependencies close to the UK itself. It could allow for a full 30 minute bulletin each weeknight with news from throughout the islands. Most of the news would usually be from Jersey and Guernsey but the Isle of Man could get more of a look-in than currently. The lunchtime news could stay Spotlight/North West Today if required.

I've seen some bad ideas here but that's amongst the worst. The best way the BBC could better serve the Isle of Man would probably be an additional specific iPlayer bulletin.

As I stated earlier I have had no knowledge of transmitters or didn’t before getting a crash course from @Londonlite and @Markymark which I appreciate.



From what I’ve seen on the BBC IOM news pages on text I feel an iplayer bulletin may be overkill.

Christ, someone really is spiking the Lilt around here...!

What might just be reasonable is a bit of reengineering so that the IoM transmitters can opt out to take a programme from Salford (gallery - probably presented from an OB on the island) while Winter Hill stays with network.

That would mean that the whole North West doesn't get treated to the IoM election special in future.

Yes. Spot on. The BBC Channel Islands region would not exisit if it were not for ITV Channel. I don't want to sound cynical but it's a case of 'me too' provision.

That said it's provided off the back of the two BBC local radio stations there, so that spreads the cost.

The IoM is home to the only 'mainstream' PSB commercial radio station in the British Isles, Manx Radio, provided under local IoM broadcasting legislation.

That's something Manx Radio would provide superior coverage of both on the radio, and 'visually' on line. The Beeb already have enough on their plate to try and fund

Perhaps, but they have covered it in the very recent past, going out in the whole of the NW. If the people of the IoM are paying a license fee they should be entitled to expect an event such as this to get some coverage.

Totally tropical mon

There goes Neil's chance of not being executed once the cultural revolution is complete.

Just a bit of fun. No offence intended