28 August 2015

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delivered the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival this year.

With the BBC Royal Charter is due to expire in 2016, Ms Sturgeon told the audience that the charter renewal process is an opportunity for a bold and ambitious BBC that better reflects the rich and varied political and social realities in the UK.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for consensus on reform and said that the current financial landscape should not be a barrier to the BBC doing things differently. She set out a series of proposed reforms that the charter renewal process should consider:

1. the  BBC should move to a federal structure, with separate governance boards for each of the home nations sitting under a UK-wide board.
2. A second English language channel should be introduced on BBC Radio Scotland to provide a better variety of programmes for the radio audience in Scotland.
3. A dedicated mainstream television channel should be established in Scotland, helping the independent production sector and improving the range of content for Scottish audiences.

The First Minister then took a question and answer session with Guardian Editor-In-Chief Kath Viner.

@NicolaSturgeon and .@KathViner prepare to take the stage for the Alt MacTaggart. #edtvfest pic.twitter.com/60WTVK5zdg

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) August 27, 2015

Ms Sturgeon said:

…we believe that a distinct BBC Scotland TV channel should be created – empowering BBC Scotland as never before. It would help to secure the sustainability of the independent production sector in Scotland, it would see more of the licence fee spent in Scotland, but more importantly, it would by some distance, be the best way of making a wider and richer range of content available to viewers in Scotland.”

Read the full speech here