Regional TV Production Levels Falling

Local TV production is failing viewers in one of the UK's regions with the amount of money spent on television programming specifically for Northern Ireland and the number of hours produced falling in the last year.
BBC NI and UTV's combined spend on TV programmes in 2009 was £25m, down 11% from £28m in 2008 and down 41% over the last five years.
The combined number of TV hours produced for Northern Ireland viewers fell to 969 hours in 2009, down 15% from 2008.
Production of programmes in Northern Ireland for the main networks remained low during 2009.
At 0.4% of its total output by volume, the BBC was the only public service broadcaster that produced any programmes in Northern Ireland for viewing by audiences across the whole of the UK.
Ofcom's annual Communications Market Report into the TV, radio, broadband, telecoms and mobile sectors also said Northern Ireland people watched less television than the UK average - three and a half hours per person per day.
Wallace Ewart, Chair of Ofcom's Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, said: "This report provides a valuable insight into communication trends in Northern Ireland and, on the whole, the findings are positive.
"The low level of TV production in Northern Ireland is a matter of concern for us and others but we welcome the steps that some of the broadcasters are taking to address the issue and we note the significant talent that there is in the local production sector here."
See: 'Laugh Out Loud': BBC NI Comedy On Way
(BMcC)