Edinburgh West MP, Mike Crockart has today welcomed the decision to shortlist Edinburgh as a ‘pioneer’ city to set up a local TV Station.
65 cities submitted bids to be selected for the license. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport then selected 20 ‘pioneer’ cities after the responses to the consultation had been considered. Twenty-four other cities are due to be considered in the second wave.
The legislation, which had come under criticism from The Scottish Government for not going far enough in terms of local programming, was laid down in the House of Commons today. The next consultation will last approximately 8-12 weeks at the end of which the shortlisted areas will be awarded their license.
Speaking in the Statutory Instrument debate, Liberal Democrat MP, Mike Crockart, welcomed the success of Edinburgh, but also raised concerns over the funding and practicality of the stations.
Mike Crockart questioned DCMS Minister Ed Vaizey about the funding for the local stations. Although they will be self-sustaining and reliant upon advertising for income, there is a worry that the need to raise advertising receipts will take money away from other Scottish media rather than generating new income.
Commenting, the Edinburgh West MP said:
“I am delighted that Edinburgh has been named as a pioneer city. UK media has become over centralised and doesn’t serve local areas the way it should. Today’s announcement is a big step forward in bringing communities across the UK, relevant home-grown programming.
“An Edinburgh-based TV station will allow residents to watch news and programmes which are pertinent to their lives.
“The next job is to make sure that the very many rural communities around Edinburgh, like Ratho and Kirkliston in my constituency, are included in scheduling. There is a fear that programming will be centred on the city, neglecting the views of those in more rural areas. To allow such isolation would simply be swapping one kind of centralised programming for another.
“Of course, to ensure the stations’ sustainability their income will come, for the large part, from advertising. To attract these revenues the station must produce and broadcast quality programmes which Edinburgh’s residents want to watch. I think we can look forward to some first-class broadcasting!”
