STV proposes 'Scottish Six' broadcast

Scottish Television (STV) have publicly announced their intention to replace their current daily news broadcasts with a new 'Scottish Six' programme following similar failed attempts in the past.

The show would aim to provide a more Scottish-orientated brand of local, Scottish, UK and international news. The show would be produced in partnership with ITN and is intended to air next year.

At the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge convention on Friday 25 September, STV’s chief executive, Rob Woodward, gave a speech officially proposing the company’s new approach to Scottish news broadcasting. Woodward said: "The objective is to create a high quality, relevant bulletin that is unique; continues to serve the two million Scots that watch STV news every week; and engages new viewers both on TV and through our digital platform."

The BBC originally presented the 'Scottish Six' concept in 1999, proposing the implementation of a more locally-focused news programme for their Scottish viewers, but the proposal was dropped. In 2003 the plan was again broached and rejected after polls revealed that 45 percent of viewers were happy with the BBC’s regular news broadcasting.

Former deputy Scottish Secretary George Foulkes MSP suggested that the 'Scottish Six' programme, in the hands of the BBC, could potentially create a "parochial and inward-looking" Scotland.

Managing Director of Broadcasting at STV, Bobby Hain justified the company’s suitability for a Scottish news programme, saying: "This is a bold, innovative and forward thinking proposal and is the next sensible step forward for Scottish news.

"STV’s unique news service is highly valued by viewers in Scotland and has seen a rise in audience share over the past five years."

The proposed program would be one hour long and would extend the time slots for local news to ten minutes from the currently allocated five. Airing at 6pm daily, the show would be a direct challenge to BBC Scotland’s BBC News at Six.

STV’s show would also draw on funds from the TV licence fee, money that was completely given over to BBC programming beforehand.

A focus on localised news for Scottish viewers would be a central facet of the new broadcast. This would be achieved by adding to their popular local bulletins, currently comprising of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.

A bulletin for the Inverness and Highlands area would be added, along with an additional one for the Borders. The creation of 300 'micro-sites' would also provide local coverage for cities, towns and smaller communities.

STV’s proposal has been well received, especially by the Scottish National Party (SNP) who have been suggesting such a news program since 2007. Pete Wishart, the SNP’s Culture, Media and Sports Spokesperson, stated that "plans for a comprehensive Scottish six o’clock news program are very welcome, and must build on the existing success of STV’s local news services".

The drive to create a news program with a Scottish perspective has partly risen from a survey carried out by the Scottish Broadcasting Commission in May 2008, which revealed that 36 percent of Scottish viewers were either fairly or very dissatisfied with Scottish news reporting provided by London-based broadcasts.