REGIONALISM IS CENTRAL TO PSB SAYS ITC CHIEF

A COMMITMENT to regional programming would be central to any new settlement for public service broadcasting, Patricia Hodgson, Chief Executive of the Independent Television Commission (ITC) has said.
The ITC are currently in discussion with ITV about a Charter for Nations and Regions which would simplify current regulation while “buttressing the underlying investment commitment”, she told a Royal Television Society (RTS) dinner in Newcastle.
Diversity was one of the keys to British broadcasting success, she said in her keynote speech, The Future of Communications: From Global to Local.
Hodgson said: “Programming and production from the nations and regions are an important part of the television landscape, and the regional character of ITV is a critical distinguishing feature of the channel. Each ITV licensee must provide high quality regional news and current affairs, and a diverse range of other programmes designed to reflect life within the nations and regions.”
Patricia Hodgson cited recent ITC research, undertaken in Leeds, which revealed that more than 90 per cent of a cross-section of viewers watched regional news. The next highest score, in terms of interest, was factual programmes, watched by half the panel.
Hodgson went on to say that there were three priorities for regulation in the communications sector. The first was for investment-friendly regulation. The second was to use competition rather than regulation to deliver what customers want. The third was a new settlement for public service broadcasting, to underpin investment in content and drive demand.
Referring to the current economic problems facing the television industry, Hodgson said: “Broadcasting is pretty good in this country but it's under strain. Many believe...that competition will destroy the range and creativity our generation enjoyed. It will create commodity television; popular, good of its kind, but failing to offer real mental nourishment. That is why the ITC's agenda for this autumn has been largely focused on issues of content – putting the programmes and services back centre stage.” (CD)