Governors’ review of services – Nations & Regions Overview BBC Nations & Regions seeks to provide high-quality local, regional and network programmes and services that are valued by audiences throughout the UK, connecting them to their communities and contributing to their sense of belonging. This sense of connection between the BBC and its audiences will be strengthened over the coming years by increased commissioning and production across the UK and through the move of significant parts of the BBC production base out of London. By the end of the next Charter period the BBC plans to spend more than £1billion a year on programmes made outside London – an increase of more than a third. Following BBC research that showed an increasing desire for more local television news, a pilot service on broadband and digital satellite was launched in the West Midlands in 2005. The results will be assessed towards the end of this year. A Public Value Test will be undertaken before we or the Trust decide whether or not to agree to a full UK launch. The BBC’s long-term commitment to supporting the UK’s minority languages has been recognised in the Government’s White Paper. Significant enhancements to services in all indigenous languages are expected in the next Charter period, for example, through a new strategic partnership with S4C and a new digital service in Gaelic. 54 BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2005/2006 6,460 hours of BBC television programmes made and broadcast in the nations and regions in 2005/2006 (excluding repeats) Remit BBC English Regions aims to be the most trusted and creative community broadcaster in England, serving a widely diverse range of urban and rural communities. It sets out to provide an accessible yet authoritative service of news, current affairs, politics, arts and music, religion, sport and weather on regional television, local radio and online. The BBC’s network of 40 local radio stations in the English Regions has a large and loyal listenership. For more than a third of listeners, BBC Local Radio is their only contact with the BBC’s radio services. Audience figures are broadly stable. The average weekly reach of BBC Local Radio was 19.5% or 7.8 million people in 2005/2006 (19.9%/7.8 million people in 2004/2005)1. The output is strongly distinctive, most obviously in its reliance on speech – its commercial competitors offer largely music-based output. For example, breakfast output on BBC Local Radio is all speech on weekdays.The quality of journalism is another mark of distinctiveness. BBC Local Radio prides itself on providing a trusted service of local, UK and global news in its bulletins, as well as putting local issues under the microscope and holding to account those with power in the communities that each station serves. The stations also work hard to foster a sense of local community through such things as high-quality coverage of local sport, providing wide-ranging information about what is happening in the community, a strong emphasis on enabling individuals to get involved with helping others, and a stress on involving listeners in contributing to the output.There is also a good range of output in specialist languages appropriate BBC Radio Devon Reflecting the community: Simon Furber and John Coates broadcast live from the Navy Days festival in Plymouth celebrating the county’s naval heritage to the communities served by individual stations – these include Mandarin, Cornish, Guernsey French, Polish and the principal Asian languages. During the General Election, BBC Local Radio did good work, mounting live broadcasts of public meetings across England bringing local electors and candidates together, as well as Question Time sessions where listeners could phone into their local BBC studio to question their candidates. The BBC is committed to extending its network of local radio stations to a limited number of underserved areas, and BBC management is carrying out preparatory work for new stations in Somerset, Dorset and Cheshire. English Regions’ television output is largely concentrated on regional news and current affairs and politics. In 2005/2006, audiences fell a little. Average15-minute weekly reach for the BBC’s early evening news was 20.4% or 9.5 million people (21%/9.75 million in 2004/2005) but remained well ahead of ITV in all English regions.The weekly current affairs strands produced in each English region and broadcast under the umbrella title Inside Out have continued to build a reputation for lively and accessible journalism reflecting a wide range of subjects and places. Notable examples included an examination of the finances of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art by BBC North East, and an investigation of speed cameras by BBC South West. Inside Out drew strong praise from the BBC’s Regional Advisory Councils and the English National Forum. All three arms of BBC London journalism – television, radio and online – responded well to the suicide bombings in the capital in July, both in terms of powerful news coverage and analysis and also in terms of providing continuously updated Where I Live Providing emergency information for local audiences: BBC Where I Live websites, became a crucial information source after the London bombings, helping people affected cope better with the crisis information on travel disruption and so on, enabling Londoners to cope better with the crisis. As we noted in last year’s Annual Report, the BBC is committed to respond to audience demand for more local (as opposed to regional) television news services. A nine-month pilot of a local BBC television news service delivered via digital satellite and broadband began in December 2005 covering six areas of the West Midlands: Staffordshire, Shropshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester, Birmingham, and the Black Country. In addition to news and information, each service offers content made by local people with the help of BBC or independent producers. One aim of local television news is to solve the perennial editorial problem of regional news programmes – where the concerns of viewers in one part of a large and diverse region are often very different from those of viewers in another. By concentrating on smaller geographical areas, the local television news services have the potential to deliver the close focus of the BBC’s Local Radio stations (the pilots are being overseen by BBC Local Radio editors).The results of the pilot will be assessed towards the end of 2006 and could pave the way for a further 60 local digital TV services across the UK. There has been some opposition to the BBC’s local television proposals from private sector media interests, although some regional newspaper groups have entered into partnership arrangements with the BBC.We are committed to applying a Public Value Test, including a Market Impact Assessment carried out by Ofcom, before we or the Trust decide whether to approve a UK-wide launch. 1The number of adults 15+ in the area covered by BBC Local Radio rose by 0.5 million to 39.8 million in 2005/2006 BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2005/2006 55 Governors’ review of services – Nations & Regions Remit BBC Scotland aims to produce a rich and broad range of high-quality and distinctive content on television, radio and online for all age groups, properly reflecting the diverse nature of Scotland and celebrating all aspects of Scottish culture and heritage for audiences in Scotland and across the UK. BBC Scotland’s news and current affairs output has continued to perform well. On radio, average weekly reach of Good Morning Scotland was 11.4% or 0.48 million people (10%/0.42 million in 2004/2005). On television, average 15-minute weekly reach to the early evening news Reporting Scotland was 23.2% or 1.1 million people (24.4%/1.15 million in 2004/2005), down a little on the year but comfortably ahead of ITV. Notable journalism included a week of themed coverage across platforms on the issue of Scotland’s future energy needs. River City is now a well-established part of the TV soap landscape in Scotland and reaches Scottish audiences who may be underserved by other BBC television output. It is appreciated for its freshness and its unique Scottish voice.There is some evidence that a lighter texture could help the programme to win larger audiences and work will progress towards this goal during 2006/2007. Some concern was expressed in our meeting with the Broadcasting Council for Scotland that the long-running drama series Monarch of the Glen had come to an end in 2005 without any replacement network commission. It was noted in the discussion that the success of River City had helped to develop a strong talent base both on and off air. This strong talent base should place BBC Scotland in a good position to develop new network programmes. Colin and Cumberland Supporting indigenous languages: BBC support for Gaelic broadcasting includes Colin and Cumberland, which gives an introduction to the Gaelic language through television and online BBC Scotland’s support for Gaelic broadcasting has remained strong and the recent BBC White Paper recognised the crucial role the BBC plays in safeguarding Gaelic cultural heritage.There is a regular Thursday evening slot on BBC Two, and Radio nan Gaidheal and the BBC Alba website are well liked. Colin and Cumberland gives an introduction to the Gaelic language through television and online.The website engages learners through interactive games and provides an audio guide to pronunciation. In April 2006 we approved the start of planning for a new digital service for Gaelic audiences.This is a joint project with Gaelic Media Services (GMS) and other Gaelic language partners and it will include television, radio and online content. BBC Scotland’s Island Blogging project, which originally provided an online platform for islanders in North Argyll, has now been expanded to cover all Scotland’s islands and is available in English and Gaelic.The entries, many illustrated with photographs, open a window into and out of often isolated communities and attract appreciative comments from an international audience. Audience concern over network news coverage of Scottish issues has been raised with us during our accountability work. As we report elsewhere, BBC News is developing a training module on reporting the devolved UK. Dr Who Building production outside London: Dr Who, starring Billie Piper and David Tennant, is made in Cardiff.The BBC is committed to increasing programme production outside the M25 Remit BBC Cymru Wales aims to produce high- quality, distinctive services which reflect the unique culture and history of Wales and its social and political landscape. Its key ambition is to foster an inclusive and participatory engagement with audiences in Wales across the range of its services. News continues to be the cornerstone of BBC Cymru Wales.The 15-minute weekly reach to the early evening television news bulletin Wales Today averaged 22.2% or 0.6 million people in 2005/2006 (26%/0.71 million people in 2004/2005), down on the year although very substantially ahead of ITV. The reach of Radio Wales slipped a little. Average weekly reach was 17.2% or 0.42 million people in 2005/2006 (18.4%/0.44 million in 2004/2005). Radio Cymru’s weekly reach averaged 6.9% or 0.17 million people in 2005/2006 (7.1%/0.17 million in 2004/2005). BBC Cymru Wales has been notably successful in supplying the network with memorable programming across a range of genres. Drama has been particularly strong and includes some of the highpoints of BBC One, such as Dr Who and Life on Mars. Tribe, for BBC Two, was a remarkable documentary series in which the presenter, Bruce Parry, lived with six of the most isolated tribes in the world. Popular programming for BBC Cymru Wales’ own audience included Wales at War, presented by John Humphrys, and the returning sitcom High Hopes. Gwynfor:Yr Aelod Dros Gymru was a well-regarded documentary on the life of Plaid Cymru’s former President and first MP Gwynfor Evans, produced for S4C. The BBC White Paper makes clear the BBC’s unique position in regard to the 56 BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2005/2006 Average audience for regional news bulletins across the UK 2005/2006 (millions) BBC One lunchtime regional news 3.0 2.9 ITV1 lunchtime regional news 1.1 1.4 BBC One early evening regional news 5.3 5.4 ITV1 early evening regional news 3.6 3.9 BBC One late evening regional news 4.7 4.9 ITV1 late evening regional news 2.5 2.9 Facing the Truth Helping to bring people together: in Facing the Truth, presenter Fergal Keane and Archbishop Desmond Tutu brought victims and perpetrators of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland face-to-face to seek reconciliation a range of genres. Perhaps most notable was the BBC Two series Facing the Truth in which victims and perpetrators of Northern Ireland’s sectarian conflict came face-to-face. Returning network drama included Messiah IV. Memorable output for BBC Northern Ireland’s own audience included From Belfast to Dachau, which won an RTS award, exploring the story of one of the first Allied soldiers to enter the concentration camp; extensive programming marking the death of the Belfast-born footballer George Best; and Supergoose, a remarkable wildlife series tracing the migration of Brent geese. We have noted the concern, expressed to us through the Broadcasting Council for Northern Ireland, over the continuing problem with DAB and DTT availability in Northern Ireland and the lack of carriage on DAB for Radio Foyle. A key objective of the BBC’s digital radio strategy is that all its services in Northern Ireland can be received on DAB, and the BBC is supporting the current attempt by Ofcom to negotiate the release of further spectrum for local multiplexes. 2005/ 2004/ 2006 2005 Remit BBC Northern Ireland’s aim is to provide something of value for everyone in the community through a broad range of programmes and services which inform and stimulate debate, celebrate and support cultural and sporting life, and reflect local interests and experiences for audiences within Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK. Audiences to the early evening television news bulletin Newsline are stable.The 15minute reach averaged 20% or 0.3 million people in 2005/2006 (19.8%/0.3 million people in 2004/2005). BBC Northern Ireland has traditionally faced uniquely strong competition not just locally but also from across the border, and it is the one area in the Nations & Regions where the BBC’s early evening news programme does not win larger audiences than its commercial competition. Newsline scored some notable scoops during the year, including the completion of IRA weapons decommissioning, and a series of Newsline Specials, investigating stories in greater depth, made impact on audiences. The reach of Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle rose.The two stations’ combined average weekly reach was a record 41% or 0.56 million people in 2005/2006 (37%/0.5 million in 2004/2005).This marks a further year of impressive growth – reach in the last quarter of 2005 was 45% or 0.61 million. Radio Ulster remains by some margin the most listened-to radio station in Northern Ireland.The presenter Stephen Nolan won his fourth Sony Gold since joining the station in 2004, and his second RTS award for BBC Northern Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland has produced successful output for the network across Source: BARB,TNS/Infosys, age 4+ provision of services to support minority languages and we know the high value placed by Welsh speakers on the BBC’s commitment to the Welsh language. The BBC has a longstanding obligation to supply 520 hours a year of licence-funded programming free of charge to the Welsh-language television channel S4C. This includes much of S4C’s most significant output, such as the channel’s popular soap Pobol y Cwm, and its news services – including a Welsh language results programme on the night of the General Election.We are working towards a new strategic partnership with S4C. We have noted the concern expressed to us through the Broadcasting Council for Wales at the lack of universal access to BBC services and, in particular, the fact that less than half the population can receive Radio Wales or Radio Cymru on DAB. A key objective of the BBC’s digital radio strategy is that all its services in Wales can be received on DAB, and the BBC is supporting the current attempt by Ofcom to negotiate the release of further spectrum for local multiplexes. BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2005/2006 57