Situation in Scotland re work
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- Scotland Politics- Post Election Chronology of Events
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| Draft discussion Paper on Broadcasting for 13/07/11
Situation in Scotland re work The feeling amongst members in Scotland is that they do not get a ‘fair crack of the whip’ regarding jobs in broadcasting, especially drama. Few dramas are produced in Scotland and of those that are, the perception is that all too often the main parts are cast ‘down south’ and the smaller parts (the coughs and spits) are sometimes cast here. The technology required to make films and TV programmes is much more easily available. As the analogue signal gets withdrawn across the UK, Scotland is now completely digital. Audiences have fragmented onto different Channels and are becoming increasingly sophisticated, watching programmes not available on the old analogue signal to viewers in Scotland but now available through the digital terrestrial or satellite. There is a greater interest in broadcasting from a Scottish perspective as opposed to a UK or London based perspective. The interest in Broadcasting comes from the new circumstances created by having a Nationalist Government in place in Scotland, now re-elected with an unimagined majority. In the last Parliament, the minority SNP administration sponsored a Broadcasting Commission to look into the whole range of broadcasting in Scotland. Many people expected it to follow the SNP’s previously argued line that all assets North of Hadrian’s wall should be repatriated to create the Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. However the Broadcasting Commission argued that the Scottish broadcast sector was part of the wider UK industry as opposed to taking a separatist line. This resulted in a very balanced report recognising the potential of the broadcast industries in Scotland and the historic deficit of Scotland’s share of UK spend when compared to population. It achieved cross party support, (possibly because nobody imagined there was any prospect of it being acted on.) http://www.scottishbroadcastingcommission.gov.uk/news/finalreportnews.html The main recommendation of the report is the creation of a Scottish Digital Network. Many consider this idea exciting as it may lead to new work opportunities for members. However, if the Scottish Digital Network (SDN) was to ‘broadcast’ only in Scotland what are the prospects of achieving terms and conditions of employment for members that match the current agreements we have? Also, the proposals to fund this network seem to revolve around taking money from the BBC, akin to the S4C deal. What would the effect be on the BBC and on BBC Scotland? Would the displacement of BBC Licence fee money from the BBC to a Scottish specific broadcaster lead to less work for members in Scotland and in the rest of the UK or to more? Scotland Politics- Post Election Chronology of Events. Extraordinarily, the SNP Manifesto 2011(RE-ELECT) makes no mention of what is currently understood by the word ‘Broadcasting’. It does make various references to ‘digital’ and to Creative Industries, (please see Appendix 1 below), but there is no commitment to a Scottish Digital Network or to wrestling Broadcasting powers from Westminster. However, after the election result, within a very short period of time, broadcasting was firmly on the political agenda. The SNP are clearly emboldened by the sale of their victory. Despite the lack of any mention of broadcasting in the SNP Manifesto and next to no mention during the election campaign, in his speech accepting the Parliament’s nomination of him as First Minister on 18th May, Salmond introduced the desire to establish the Scottish Digital Network, arguing it had cross party support in the previous Parliament. This was one of the six demands for change being made of Westminster (previous statements only had three fiscal demands). The six demands are: greater borrowing power, ability to vary corporation tax, revenue from the Crown commissioners, control of excise raised on alcohol sales, influence over the control of broadcasting and greater influence in Europe. Nearly a month later, in an unexpected statement to Parliament on 16th June, Fiona Hyslop, the Culture Secretary made the following points. The ambition of the Edinburgh Government’s involvement is now expanding to include the Licence Fee and the regulation of local TV. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/06/16152002 Ms Hyslop has proposed that the Scottish Parliament: Needs to be able to ensure the establishment of the Scottish Digital Network as a public service broadcaster with a remit within Scotland and with guaranteed spectrum which can make it available to everyone in Scotland Needs to be consulted on subsequent television licence fee settlements and the use of that revenue if it has knock-on impacts for Scotland Could have a responsibility for, or at least an involvement in, decisions made by the UK Government about local television stations which will broadcast within Scotland. Any such stations could have an impact on the viability of Scottish media companies, for example if they competed for a limited advertising market Informed speculation suggests that the desire to be consulted over the licence fee is to aid plans to divert some of it to fund plans for Scotland (akin to the S4C deal). Politics- Future Scenarios From a Scottish perspective, the Coalition Government at Westminster looks alien. The electorate has had a chance to comment on it at the Scottish Election and has voted decisively against the Liberals who are now down to 5 MSPs. For some time now in Scotland, the Conservative have been down to their bedrock vote. Despite being a unionist party, it cannot have escaped the Conservatives attention that their chances of success at Westminster would improve massively if Scotland no longer sent MPs there. The Conservatives are also well known for being at odds with what they perceive to be a left of centre BBC. So far, the Westminster coalition has agreed to one of the Scottish Governments requests, that of greater borrowing powers. It is hard to see them ceding control of Corporation tax without expecting major complaints from the North of England. The revenue from the Crown Estates (principally here from the coastal sea bed) may also be a step too far for the UK treasury because although this is targeting income from renewable energy, oil revenues would quickly come under the spotlight if this were agreed. Excise on alcohol could again cause problems within a United Kingdom but influence in Europe and over broadcasting might be more easily surrendered. If that then led to an emasculation of the BBC, it is hard to imagine the Tory back benchers taking up arms in protest. Developments in Scotland may prove to be to the detriment of the BBC. The challenge for Equity is to have a policy framework which recognises the weaknesses of the current broadcasting structures regarding employment opportunities for our members in Scotland but preserves the strength of the BBC across the UK and as a major world platform. Existing Broadcasters BBC The BBC has invested heavily in Pacific Quay, its Scottish headquarters. It is a state of the art facility but was designed a big glass box before 9/11. It had to be significantly re-engineered after 9/11 to make it bomb proof adding to the cost. However, BBC Scotland’s programme budget as a proportion of the UK production budget has been under scrutiny and should be increasing. In 2008, after a furore over the badging of productions as Scottish when they had little obvious connection with Scotland, the BBC Trust agreed to use the Ofcom definition for an out of London programme instead of their own in house definition. The Ofcom definition requires that
2. At least 70% of the production budget (excluding the cost of on-screen talent, archive material and copyright costs) must be spent in the UK outside the M25. 3. At least 50% of the production talent by cost must have their usual place of employment in the UK outside the M25.
There is a perception that BBC Scotland is un-ambitious and has been unable to get major commissions from London. The inability to commission without permission from London is a major handicap. Following submission from Equity the Broadcasting Commission wrote However, the Commission is deeply aware of the scale of the change that is required at the BBC. The metropolitan culture is firmly entrenched, as is the notion that London is the natural centre of things and the proper location for positions of power in broadcasting. We also know that symbols are important – which is why it is right to make the argument that the BBC should move at least one of its four main national television channels to Scotland. This would reinforce the corporate priority of dispersing commissioning power and send the clearest possible signal of the commitment to change. A UK-wide BBC television channel based and managed in Scotland would be a highly visible and potent symbol of the organisation re-imagining itself as a genuinely UK-national broadcaster. It is also a change which can be made without major organisational disruption and without the need to relocate large numbers of people.(5) The BBC recognises it has problems in the Nations and regions. The BBC Trust’s Review and Assessment 2009/10 (pp15 para 4) http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/bbc_trust_2009_10.pdf Audiences still feel there are weaknesses in how the BBC represents the different nations, regions and communities to other people in the UK; the BBC is taking steps to address them.... However our surveys show that there are still weaknesses in the devolved nations, particularly Scotland and Northern Ireland, where expectations are higher and perceptions of performance lower. This is reflected in the Audience Council for Scotland Review 2009/10 http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/aboutus/review/2009_2010/acs/en/ Network Commissioning outside London The Council remains concerned that while the amount of BBC Television made in Scotland increases, the proportion of it which is recogniseably Scottish should do so also. And Portrayal Following advice from Audience Councils across the UK, the Trust initiated a joint project with the Executive to investigate ways in which the BBC might better portray the full diversity of the UK's nations and communities across its network services, significantly enhancing the cultural representation of the nations and regions of the UK including Scotland. The Council looks forward to progress on this in the year ahead And
However there is clearly an appetite for recognisably Scottish drama beyond River City. And
Bringing the UK to the World and the World to the UK Major new content with international potential .would be more likely.... if the process of increasing network television production in Scotland focussed more on content with recognisably Scottish elements. And finally Key priorities for next year Content in the Nations and Regions Council advised that the Trust ask the Executive to develop a robust long-term strategy for television drama for audiences in Scotland to increase production, stimulate creativity, and broaden the range of drama portraying Scotland to audiences there. Recommendations regarding the BBC Equity is committed by policy to supporting the BBC Licence fee as the best method of funding the Corporation. The Licence fee is increasingly being looked on by politicians as an alternative source of funding for other projects vaguely related to public service broadcasting (qv S4C). Equity does not have a policy opposing the break-up of the BBC because this is not something that has been a realistic prospect until now. Equity should develop policies opposing any attempt to break up or diminish the BBC whilst at the same time challenging the BBC robustly to prove their ambition to show their worth and value to each of the constituent parts of the UK. Specifically this could involve questioning the practice of badging things as Scottish; challenging the extent of casting outside of Scotland for Scottish productions; commissioning returning drama series for UK broadcast that are identifiably Scottish; pushing Ofcom and/or the BBC to include some criteria for the ‘on screen talent’ in their definition of a non London production. Equity has previously adopted a policy supporting the call to have a headquarters of one of the BBC’s television channels relocated to Scotland- should Equity represent this argument to the BBC Trust?
STV has been at odds with ITV and has recently lost a court case with the network over unpaid fees for network production. One aspect of this court case was STV’s decision not to show Downton Abbey but to replace it with the home produced Taggart in an attempt to save money. Unfortunately this has backfired on the company in more than one way they lost the lawsuit (exact details confidential but legal costs alone in 2010 amounted to £3.5m- payout reported to be £18m) and when the same episodes of Taggart were networked their viewing figures fell below 3m for the first time and the network commission was withdrawn. Taggart regularly attracts over 750,000 viewers in Scotland. It is hard to understand STV’s business model and hard to see them continuing without the goodwill of the ITV Network. They have tried to get themselves reclassified as an ‘Independent’ but were unsuccessful. They have tried to establish themselves as a production centre but have lost their network commissions for drama (principally Taggart and Rebus). They have a track record of producing Scotland only dramas, but it is unclear if these will continue. STV is investing in ‘microsites’ and ultra local news-breaking the broadcast region into much smaller (city or town sized) units for news and current affairs. This model has severely limited ability to support broadcast drama. Equity has concerns which we are addressing about the STV archive being on Youtube. Channel 3 Licences may be up for renewal in 2014 and there is uncertainty over the cost and value of the Channel 3 licences.
Recommendations regarding the Channel 3 Licence in Scotland There is limited leverage over companies such as STV which are ruled almost exclusively by market forces. STV plc may not wish to bid for the Channel 3 licence for Central Scotland and Northern Scotland in 2014. Also, there is a body of evidence that suggests that the Channel 3 Licence will have little value in the digital world- its main asset being its position as Channel 3 on the electronic programme guide (EPG). The ITV network (as opposed to ITV plc) has an implied responsibility to serve the whole UK. Could (should?) Equity seek meetings with the ITV Network to talk about the importance of drama production and then the need for proportional representation in drama of the nations of the UK. Could (should?) Equity seek a meeting with Ofcom to express our concerns in this area and to seek an understanding of the future of the Channel 3 Licence. Equity may wish to take a view on developments here, especially if the Public Service Broadcasting obligations are watered down further. CHANNEL 4 Channel 4 has a public service remit, is in competition with other broadcasters for advertising revenue but is publicly owned. Despite having an office in Glasgow and unlike BBC 1, BBC 2 and ITV it has a UK wide identity (it started broadcasting digitally to the whole of Wales for the first time in March 2010!). Channel 4’s Annual report for 2010 includes the text below http://www.channel4.com/media/documents/corporate/annual-reports/Ch4_Annual_Report_2010_FINAL.pdf pp16 In 2010 we increased both the value and volume of first-run originated content on the main channel that comes from the nations and regions of the UK. Across the channel portfolio, we spent £125 million on companies based outside London. A particular priority was to expand supply from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Thanks to major commissions including 4thought.tv (Belfast), That Paralympics Show (Cardiff) and Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Nights (Glasgow) our expenditure in the Nations accounted for 4.5% of our first-run originated spend on the main channel (exceeding our 3% quota) and 11% of our portfolio spend outside London. This was a significant increase from 2009 – with an additional £4.4 million spent across the portfolio on projects in Scotland alone. Recommendations regarding Channel 4 Could (should?) Equity seek a meeting with Channel 4 and, amongst other issues, lobby them to increase their programme budgets to reflect the proportion of the population who live in Scotland? Other Broadcasters including CHANNEL 5/SKY As has been mentioned above in reference to STV, there is limited moral pressure than can be brought to bear on those companies who have a purely commercial focus and are not in receipt of public money or who do not have a public service obligation. These companies have a severely limited track record of production or employment in Scotland. Recommendations regarding other broadcaster Equity could (should?) challenge these companies about the employment opportunities provided by drama production that they offer for members in Scotland. Indigenous Languages across the British Isles Broadcasting has been seen as a vital tool to help resuscitate or preserve the indigenous languages of these islands. S4C started broadcasting on November 1st 1982 as a dedicated Welsh language broadcaster. BBC Alba was launched on September 19th 2008 as a dedicated Gaelic language broadcaster. Unlike S4C, BBC Alba is a joint venture funded by BBC Scotland and MG Alba (which is wholly owned by the Gaelic Media Service.) In Northern Ireland Irish Gaelic and Ulster Scots both featured in the Good Friday Agreement (see App 2 below) and different arrangements exist to support them through TG4 (an Irish channel) and BBC NI. The state of the native languages in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all very different so like for like comparisons are very hard. The population of Scotland is 5.2m of whom 58,000 are Gaelic speakers (1.1%). (Scots Gaelic is recognised as a language that is struggling to survive.) In Northern Ireland, 167,000 people claim some knowledge of Ulster Irish (a dialect of Irish Gaelic) which represents some 10.4% of the population. Approximately 2% of the population of Northern Ireland claim to speak Ulster Scots (36,000) however the number speaking it as their main language in their home is negligible. The population of Wales is 2.94m with 611,000 who are Welsh speakers or 21%. The BBC has always had a responsibility to produce programmes in the indigenous languages It is obviously important to support these languages and there are Equity members who rely on work in these indigenous languages. The move to digital seems to be confirming a slow shift towards dedicated Channels for these languages as witnessed by developments at S4C and BBC Alba. The differing emphases in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales may impact on the resources available for English language broadcasting in each country. Previously this may have been especially true in Scotland regarding the BBC but the recent moves of the Scottish Government to dramatically increase the funding for the Gaelic Media Service has altered this perception. However the Government’s Scots Language Working Party Report recently concluded ‘All media organisations, and all agencies in the cultural sector which receive Government funding, should be actively encouraged to develop specific Scots language policies’ (3) In Scotland, the Scottish Government are supporting the newly created BBC Alba. This is funded by MG Alba (the trading name of the Gaelic Media Service which is financed by the Scottish Government,) and BBC Scotland. The BBC currently spends £3.2 million on Gaelic radio content and £2.1 million for Gaelic TV and online. The BBC contributes an additional £2.5 million to BBC ALBA. (BBC figures exclude distribution costs.) MG Alba will apply the majority of its budget (£12.4 million in 2008/09) to the Gaelic Digital Service. However, in 2009/10 653 hours of Gaelic TV were made for BBC Alba and 690 hours were made for S4C by BBC Cymru yet BBC Alba serves a community that is less than a tenth the size of the Welsh speaking community.
Equity has members who work in all the indigenous languages of the British Isles. There is no great love of the BBC amongst these communities but yet partnership with the BBC could be said to reduce overheads to allow greater resources for programme making. Recommendation: To increase the possible availability of funds, Equity adopts a policy of advocating that responsibility for the indigenous languages of the UK should be devolved to the appropriate National Government, Parliament or Assembly. This should be accompanied by campaigning to release existing funds from DCMS to the appropriate legislature. Conclusions Campaign to maintain the integrity of the BBC and the licence fee as a method of paying for it, whilst making informed tactical local decisions Campaign to devolve some regulation and funding of broadcasting to increase work opportunities for members Campaign to ensure the regulation of commercial broadcaster (including ITV licences for Scotland) ensures a Scottish production base Campaign to get a proportionate spend for Channel 4 in Scotland Need to focus the debate on the ability to make programmes. No need for duplication of infrastructure/ management Support the case for a Scottish Digital Network to be funded by Government, not through commandeering on BBC Licence fee Need to be aware of the threat of audience fragmentation specifically regarding new agreements in the digital world Appendix
References to Digital/Creative in Re- Elect, SNP Manifesto 2011- Next Generation Digital Fund to ensure fair access to the digital revolution- emphasis on consumers rights as opposed to the production sector. E Skills Placement Programme to help provide work experience for 750 IT work placements Digital Ambition for Scotland to ensure ‘next generation’ broadband’ available to all by 2020 (with an emphasis on remote and rural access). Access to Digital recycling computer equipment to help access for lower income and community groups Creative Industries continue to work with Nesta through the Starter for 6 programme and with Creative Scotland through its Creative Industries Strategy. Emphasis on digital gaming ..to increase exports by 50% over next six years http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Press+Releases/2010/RTE+and+TG4+available+in+NI.htm details of intergovernment agreement on TG4 and RTE http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/346190/0115217.pdf Broadcasting Commission final report 5.13 Broadcasting Commission final report 5.21 http://www.stvplc.tv/content/mediaassets/doc/STV%20Complete.pdf pp73 Directory: documents documents -> Concept stage documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 65.51 Kb. Share with your friends:
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