Â鶹Éç One, Two and Four service review

Audience engagement indicated that viewers’ awareness of channel identity is not always clear, and that younger viewers especially see it as increasingly unimportant. Overall, audiences were highly appreciative of the quality of both network and Â鶹Éç Scotland output, though some concerns remain about the quality of some opt-out programming and about what is seen by some as over-reliance on leading network brands. Some younger audience members expressed a desire for music, comedy and documentaries on issues of concern to them, and for more content which reflected contemporary Scotland. A range of views was expressed on news output for Scotland, however members believed that current Â鶹Éç provision does not achieve the optimal balance of global, UK, Scottish national and Scottish regional news for audiences in Scotland.

Members suggested testing three hypotheses which arose from audience engagement: that increasing high-quality news coverage from around Scotland would improve audience perceptions of how well the Â鶹Éç caters for their communities; that coverage of English devolved matters could be reduced to allow for this; and that high-quality international and UK news coverage should remain a core element of Â鶹Éç news provision in Scotland. There was acknowledgement that high quality drama like , , and helped to bring audiences together. However there is clearly an appetite for recognisably Scottish drama beyond River City. The Council considered that the content on offer in the Â鶹Éç Four This is Scotland season made a major contribution to the Â鶹Éç's public purposes: material of this quality should be available to as much of its potential audience as possible.

Review of Â鶹Éç ALBA

When Â鶹Éç ALBA was launched in 2008, the Trust set a condition that after a year of operation there should be a review of how well the channel was performing. It focused on two aspects in particular: whether the channel was achieving wide appeal beyond existing Gaelic speakers, and whether to make the channel available to more people by putting it on Freeview. The review and public consultation was launched in October 2009. However, the question of access to Â鶹Éç services emerged as a key issue in the Â鶹Éç Strategy Review in March 2010 and the Trust decided that until it reached a view on what universality of access should mean for the Â鶹Éç as a whole, it would not be appropriate to take a decision on Â鶹Éç ALBA. The Â鶹Éç ALBA review was therefore extended to conclude later in 2010. The Council concluded that, in its first year, Â鶹Éç ALBA had responded strongly to the needs of the Gaelic community, and greatly enhanced the resources and opportunities available for learners. It had also demonstrated a strong appeal among sections of the wider audience in Scotland, comparable or greater than that demonstrated by some of the Â鶹Éç's network services.

Members believed that carriage on Freeview would be likely to significantly increase the number of licence fee payers who could access the channel, with a commensurate increase in public value.

The Executive proposed to create capacity for ALBA on Freeview by removing the Â鶹Éç network radio stations during the hours Â鶹Éç ALBA is on air. The Council noted that this involved restricting services for some licence fee payers, in order to enhance those for others. Members believed that while carriage of Â鶹Éç ALBA on Freeview in lieu of Â鶹Éç network radio for part of the time would represent a net increase in public value, the Executive should urgently address the needs of radio listeners in Scotland and bring forward a plan to ensure that radio listeners in Scotland can access all Â鶹Éç services via at least one distribution platform.