The Sun: BEEB cutbacks BBC Scotland given green light to slash flagship programmes amid ‘atrocious’ viewing figures

Story from The Sun:

BBC Scotland is preparing to axe a raft of programmes amid woeful viewing figures.

The broadcaster announced earlier today that its peak-time news will be scaled back.

Among the programming that will be slashed is The Nine, which was first televised in February 2019.

The Seven will also be scrapped and replaced with a 30-minute news broadcast at 7pm.

In 2021, BBC Scotland director Steve Carson said The Nine reached more than 100,000 viewers each week, adding that The Seven was watched by over 20,000 people.

However, analysis by Ofcom found that The Nine's average viewership had tumbled year on year since 2020.

The regulator revealed that last year, average viewers were around 10,000 per week.

BBC Scotland will instead focus efforts and investment in online news.

The broadcaster's plans have been approved by Ofcom, which deemed the changes to be "appropriate".

A statement from Ofcom said: "Having carefully considered the responses to our consultation, we have decided to approve the BBC’s request.

"We consider that the revised news quota is appropriate for requiring the BBC to fulfil its mission and promote its public purposes, and that the wider BBC plans have the potential to meet the changing needs of audiences in Scotland. We also consider the risk to fair and effective competition is low.

"The BBC must be transparent about how it is delivering for audiences in Scotland, and we will hold it to account. We expect the BBC to monitor the impact of the changes it has proposed and be ready to continue to adapt as necessary to meet audience needs.

"We will also monitor performance and will report on it in our annual report on the BBC next year."

Last month, we told how the BBC Scotland channel was watched for less than two hours per week.

Less than one in eight Scots watched the station each week last year.

A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC remains the most used brand for media in Scotland used by 84% of adults in Scotland on average per week.

"We do not take these stats for granted and remain committed to delivering content for audiences which informs, educates, entertains, and provides value for the licence fee.

"In line with general viewing habits, with a move towards watching on demand rather than ‘live’, viewing of Scottish content on BBC iPlayer has more than doubled since the launch of the BBC Scotland channel. iPlayer views are not reported in the channel’s live reach figure.”

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