In January 2027 the BBC will be awarded a new Royal charter that will underwrite both the model of the new license fee settlement and the very purpose and priorities of the public service broadcaster for the next 10 years. Prior to that, a period of consultation has begun that is framed by the publication of the UK government’s green paper, Britain’s Story: The Next Chapter. It is within this context, under the auspices of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, that the Scottish Parliament launched an inquiry into the future of Scottish broadcasting that first met on the 8th of January 2026.
Below you can find a link to the inaugural inquiry session that features SAHA Steering Group member Professor Nick Higgins, University of the West of Scotland, alongside Professor Catherine Happer, University of Glasgow and Professor Robert Beveridge, University of Sassari.
You can watch the 8th January 2026 committee session online:
Like all public service broadcasters, BBC Scotland and STV are facing the twin challenges of declining audiences and a downturn in advertising revenue. The competition from online streaming services, including YouTube, now the second most watched platform in both Scotland and the UK, has led to an overall decline in audience share and a reduction in the time spent viewing the BBC by younger adults (16-24 year-olds). Unlike the streamers both the BBC and BBC Scotland have a distinct cultural remit to fulfil, underwritten within the current charter by the Reithian principles to inform, educate and entertain. To achieve this, the BBC are currently committed to spend a minimum of 8% of its programming budget in Scotland. This figure includes the funding, currently around £40M, for the BBC Scotland channel launched in 2019. What these figures fail to demonstrate, however, is how these funds are distributed, what programmes are made, and who makes them?
This issue has recently come to light due to the ‘Scottish qualifying’ nature of the BBC’s current flagship programme, The Traitors. Claiming a significant but undisclosed percentage of the Scottish BBC spend, the production has been criticised for the lack of Scottish crew and talent involved. Accompanied by the cancellation of the long running studio-based BBC soap, River City, this raises questions around the sustainability of the skilled screen workforce in Scotland and the gaming of the very criteria and quota systems put in place to protect them.
In my contribution to the Scottish Parliament Culture Committee inquiry, I highlighted these concerns and recommended a more proactive role from BBC Scotland in relation to the 6 Scottish higher education institutions that deliver ‘film and television audio-visual training to a level that would be considered a professional preparation for industry’. I proposed the establishment and leadership by BBC Scotland of a new Screen Skills Scotland National Board, that would bring together the relevant education institutions alongside industry. Such a board would serve as a key mechanism and interface that would support BBC Scotland to achieve the Skills Development leadership role outlined in the government’s new green paper.
Diversity in who makes the BBC’s programmes is only one side of the equation however, and I also called for increased diversity in the style and form of what is commissioned and screened on BBC Scotland. Suggesting the adoption of a co-production model widely embraced across European broadcasters, the launch of a drama pilot season and the acquisition and promotion of the many Scottish feature documentaries that have to date never received a Scottish broadcast.
To read more on my thoughts on the opportunity charter renewal offers for Scotland please follow the links below and watch the session itself on Parliament TV. You can watch the committee session online
Professor Nick Higgins is the Director of the Creative Media Academy at the University of the West of Scotland. He is a BAFTA nominated documentary filmmaker and XR creative and has directed and produced programmes for both BBC Scotland and STV. In 2017 he launched a Masters in Filmmaking delivered from Film City Glasgow, where he established a cinema and teaching space in partnership with Film City. Since then, students from the ScreenSkills accredited programme have produced over 100 short films garnering awards and nominations from the RTS, Grierson and BAFTA Scotland.
In 2020 Professor Higgins led the AHRC & SFC funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) on Immersive Technologies with the iso digital design studio. The project was awarded an ‘Outstanding’ assessment by Innovate UK and generated over £1M in new business for the company. More recently Professor Higgins was the lead author on the 2023 Screen Scotland commissioned report, A Film School for Scotland: Mapping Existing Provision. He currently sits on the board of the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) and the SAHA Steering Group.
