Ofcom is expected to open its consultation on proposed changes to STV’s news service within the next month.
The broadcaster is proposing ditching the separate news service for the former Grampian TV region.
The move is being fiercely opposed by the National Union of Journalists and has been condemned by the leaders of all the major political parties in the Scottish parliament.
The NUJ is currently balloting its members at STV on strike action.
It has been suggested that a strike in the week before Christmas is a possibility.
Regardless of what Ofcom may allow, some changes seem inevitable.
STV says it does not need permission to simply move the presentation of the “Grampian” bulletins to Glasgow and record them.
There is no suggestion at present that STV is planning any on air changes ahead of Ofcom’s decision.
Pres fans may sometimes look to STV with a certain curiosity or even envy – the Channel 3 service which isn’t owned by ITV and which still has local branding.
I have been watching STV closely over the past few weeks and it is hard to see how viewers will still benefit from this arrangement if the planned changes to news go ahead.
The only thing which can be said in STV’s favour at present is that its news provision goes beyond that offered in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Until now, the idea of retaining a separate service for the former Grampian region was never in any doubt.
There are also sub-opts for the Edinburgh and Dundee areas. These are not historic legacies – they were introduced around 20 years ago.
STV’s proposal would mean the company would be producing what would probably turn out to be an inferior imitation of BBC Reporting Scotland. A national news service without the BBC’s array of specialist and long-standing reporters and correspondents.
It is notable that a greater proportion of STV’s on air staff are at relatively early stages in their careers.
More widely, STV now produces little local output other than the current affairs programme Scotland Tonight and magazine show What’s On Scotland.
If STV were bought over, say by ITV or Comcast, the legal obligation to produce this minimum volume of output would stay.
As for junctions and promotions, they lack ITV’s polish.
The idents haven’t changed for 10 years.
Some promotional airtime is lost to sponsorship stings for the station itself – a way of allowing extra advertising within the rules. STV is sponsored, depending on the break, by SpecSavers and Sun Bingo. It looks naff.
There is a legitimate debate to be had around STV’s news proposals.
Audiences are falling.
However if the changes happen, it would be hard to mount a principled argument that a takeover by ITV or another reputable company would be against the wider public interest.
Are STV’s days numbered? Or will it survive yet again?
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PICTURED: STV break bumper. COPYRIGHT: STV Group.
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