News Story

Cristina Nicolotti Squires from the regulator gave evidence to MSPs on Thursday.

STV’s news programme changes are the “best thing for audiences across Scotland” and for the “sustainability” of its licence, a director at Ofcom has said.

The broadcaster announced plans last year to remove its dedicated north of Scotland television news programme and cut 60 jobs.

It will replace it with a single programme from Glasgow, which will include sections devoted to regional news.

The cancellation would require permission from the regulator Ofcom and it is expected to begin a consultation shortly.

Giving evidence to the Culture Committee at Holyrood on Thursday, Ofcom’s group director of broadcast and media Cristina Nicolotti Squires said the regulator “will be monitoring STV” to ensure the new programme will interest people across Scotland.

She said: “There is a loss of local news perhaps on a linear television programme, which fewer and fewer people watching. There will be more news on the platforms that people are using to consume news, that is what the outcome should be.

“If the proposal goes ahead we will be monitoring STV to make sure that the programme that comes out of Glasgow has got a good range of material that is of interest to people right across Scotland, and we’ll be holding them to account on that.”

Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston made reference to a letter from Ofcom to Parliament that he said sounds as if the regulator’s minds are “pretty made up”.

He said: “You said our minds are not made up. I mean, the letter that we’ve received from you says we’re proposing to approve STV’s request.”

Quoting from the letter, he said “‘In our view, STV’s proposal will ensure that audiences continue to be served with high-quality regional news provision on a sustainable basis for STV.’

“That sounds pretty made up.”

Ms Nicolotti Squires replied: “With all consultation processes we take into account the range of views, the volume of views that have been provided, and we will perhaps go back to the licence holder on this occasion and might have further discussions with them, but we think that the proposal they’re putting forward is the best thing for audiences across Scotland and for the sustainability of the STV licence.”