The latest edition of The Media Show discussed how BBC Scotland would be separated from the rest of the corporation if there is a yes vote for Scottish independence.
A Scottish Government's white paper on an independent Scotland is due next week and will address the issue further. Existing licenses for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will apparently be honoured.
I cant see ITV changing much since a new agreement come into practices, I can see a FEW more peak time "Scottish" Programmmes. It would be nice to have Scottish made dramas again.
I think both the Yes and No sides need to start taking broadcasting far more seriously. It's the one thing that tangibly affects every single person in Scotland. For some people who have crappy jobs and fairly rotten lives it can be everything, and the idea of losing out on EastEnders or Strictly Come Dancing may sway some voters who aren't engaged in the economic arguments.
Equally, a good World Cup run in 2014 for England filled with the usual England-dominated coverage (which I fully understand given 95% of the population of the UK live there, but still remains frustrating), or a lack of coverage of Scottish athletes in the Commonwealth Games, could sway people the other way.
As I understand it an SBC without adverts (which strikes me as unlikely given Ireland with many more decades of heritage can't sustain without adverts, but anyway...) would replace the BBC. I'm sure I'd heard that Channel 4 and Channel 5 would retain their spots until their franchises ended in 2025. I imagine that would also be the case for STV.
Whether ITV would continue to supply programmes to STV in the current way, or come to a TV3-style arrangement - which is far less secure, as we've seen recently - or decide to launch its own channel, is another matter.
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A former member
Would it matter? ITVplc and STV are still going to be part of ITV network no matter what happens.
Why cant the BBC just continue to be the same, last time I check it was the British broadcasting company, as far as I see we all live in great Britain which is the biggest island of the British isles. All that needs to changes is a few more Scottish programmes and every one will be happy.
The SNP want to opt out of Great Britain though - that's the point of Independence. However they want to opt out but keep the British things that are conveninent to them, such as the pound (they've been told no to that this week!) and the BBC.
The BBC would surely be under no obligation to continue in Scotland should independence go ahead - they could stop shipping shows to Glasgow for starters and leave it to the new Scottish Government to establish a new Scottish broadcaster. All a bit messy of course though like any divorce - the SNP would argue Scottish licence fee payers have paid for BBC Scottish buildings etc., while the BBC would argue that Scottish Licence Fee payers paid to fund the BBC, so those properties belong to the BBC, not the Scottish Government.
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A former member
People NEED to remember SNP is not the party of goverment for all scots, and comes 2016 there could be kicked out off office, Labour, the greens or even a tory/SSP/Lib dem could be control.
I still think Belgium holds the key to this problem,
Not really as if Scotland becomes independent they have to apply to join the EU from scratch. Cue the Daily Mail filling their front pages with stories of the thousands of Scots who'll infiltrate the country as a result!
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A former member
Daily mail would be happy it means all the Romanians would no longer be allowed in country.
As I've said before on Metropol, I'm not convinced by the arguments for a yes vote.
However, I'm pretty sure that the BBC would enter into negotiations should there be an overwhelming mandate in favour of independence, just like a lot of other public bodies would. I'm also quite sure that the SNP position is that they would create a new Scottish broadcaster out of the assets they say they would get out of the deal. Whether that could be done and the funding maintained are all topics to be addressed, and I doubt they will be in any depth in the white paper due next week.
One thing I was intrigued by in this story was the line that 'listeners would "continue to enjoy" shows like Steve Wright in the Afternoon and The Archers.' I can understand telly shows being bought in, but are they saying the BBC radio stations would be licenced or have syndicated shows? Seemed a bit odd to me to suggest this, as if a Scottish station would really hand over to Steve Wright in London. I know lots of ex-pats abroad listen but I think the nats were suggesting FM would be business as usual, which would be weird.
Mind you, so would having my mortgage rate set abroad. But that's another story.
It would be nice to have Scottish made dramas again.
Well, nothing's stopping them doing that. Ten million people watched a drama from BBC Wales on Saturday night. If they come up with some good dramas, they'll show them. If they don't, they won't.
Funding for the SBS will come from Scotland's share of licence fee income (£320m a year) and BBC commercial arm BBC Worldwide's profits (£13m), plus £12m annually provided by the Scottish government for Gaelic broadcasting. It will not have to raise money from advertising, the SNP said.
Also mentioned was...
Quote:
The SNP said it would also seek an agreement with Channel 4 by the proposed start of independence for Scotland in 2016 to ensure the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster has "appropriate minimum level of original production, in terms of both value and hours, that reflects Scotland's population size".
Curious to know whether they'd actually have any rights to a share of BBC Worldwide's profits. I guess BBC Alba could easily be renamed 'SBS Alba' as I gather it's a joint venture. I doubt thought it would be as easy for SBS to take over BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal. In theory the BBC channels could still be available in Scotland via subscription.