Ofcom’s decision on STV’s proposal to stop providing a distinct news service for the north of Scotland could set a precedent.
If the STV North service goes, it would be hard to refuse any requests for similar changes to English regions.
STV’s plan is to produce a single news programme for both Central and Northern Scotland.
Ofcom will need to approve the plan – it could potentially block it or secure modifications.
Details of the consultation process have still to be announced.
But imagine this.
If STV gets approval for this, how might ITV feel about some of its regional commitments?
We all know the pressure commercial broadcasters are under with cuts to the soaps and daytime due to kick in within 3 months.
So, imagine if ITV started to think about its English regions again in a year or two?
Could a joint programme for West and Westcountry be on the cards? Or the end of some splits.
Of course, it would mean a poorer local service but if a service is not financially viable can it still be subsidised?
How would Ofcom respond? It would be hard to say that Westcountry’s current provision had to be maintained after ditching Grampian.
Could a proposal to replace Channel with a recorded sub-opt from Southampton prove acceptable?
And what about the level of regional output required in Wales and Northern Ireland?
There is no suggestion at present of imminent cuts but the point remains – advertising is down and every cross-subsidy will have to be considered sooner or later.
Once a decision is taken to effectively scrap an official channel 3 region – i.e., Grampian – how can a request to scrap another be flatly rejected? And sub-regions are especially vulnerable.
A proper debate is necessary on what sort of news service is sustainable on Channel 3 going forward.
The potential knock-on implications of the STV North decision are too important to ignore.
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PICTURED: ITV/STV regional news title sequences. COPYRIGHT: ITV plc/STV Group.
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