The 91¸£ÀûÉç Audience Councils advise the 91¸£ÀûÉç Trust on how well the 91¸£ÀûÉç is delivering its public purposes and serving licence fee payers across the United Kingdom. The four Councils – serving Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales – are supported by the Trust to provide an independent assessment of audience expectations and issues.

During the year members engaged with the issues that matter to licence payers in Scotland, from new ideas for distributing 91¸£ÀûÉç content and reviews of key 91¸£ÀûÉç services, to how Scotland is portrayed on the networks.

Many of the issues related to distribution, as broadcast technology on all media continued to develop. As television, broadband and radio platforms evolve, it is not clear how 91¸£ÀûÉç content should best be distributed to ensure licence fee payers have access to it all. The Audience Council for Scotland welcomed the 91¸£ÀûÉç's Project ‘Canvas’ proposal for internet television, and made comprehensive responses to the government's Digital Britain report and the Trust's review of 91¸£ÀûÉç ALBA from the perspective of audiences across Scotland.

There has been significant progress on a range of issues raised with the Trust, from network commissioning to overall news provision for audiences in Scotland and radio reception on the A9. Work continued on key long-term issues such as network news coverage of devolved issues, and the future of 91¸£ÀûÉç ALBA.

91¸£ÀûÉç services have worked hard o deliver the Public Purposes on all media, and there was significant progress this year in some areas. Coverage of the general election campaign was innovative and stimulating, and a season on 91¸£ÀûÉç Four provided a UK-wide showcase for high quality programming on Scottish themes.

Issues on access and portrayal, which are of concern to audiences across the UK, have been adopted by the Trust. In addition, the Council has asked that consideration be given to development of a robust, long-term strategy for television drama for audiences in Scotland.

Jeremy Peat
National Trustee for Scotland