BBC Trust

It has been a year of strong performance for BBC Northern Ireland across both local and UK-wide programmes, new data from the BBC Annual Report shows, with audience reach and approval ratings for TV above the UK average.

On radio, BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle remained the most listened to radio station in Northern Ireland and retained its place as one of the BBC’s most popular stations. 

The findings are reported in the BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2015/16. The BBC Trust has also published the Annual Review of its advisory body, the Audience Council Northern Ireland, which held a range of events during this Charter Review year to gauge audience opinion. 

It was an important year for events in Northern Ireland, with Belfast hosting Sports Personality of the Year, and extensive coverage of the Tall Ships docking in Belfast. The
Audience Council has consistently highlighted the value of staging major events such as this in different parts of the UK, for the benefits it brings to local audiences.  Another welcome development was the launch of Radio Foyle on DAB in early 2015 giving digital radio access to listeners in the North West.

The Northern Ireland Screen partnership has been a significant factor in developing Northern Ireland as a production base for the networks, with commissions this year for returning series Line of Duty and The Fall as well as a new drama, My Mother And Other Strangers, set in the west of Northern Ireland in World War Two.  Indeed in 2015/16, the BBC invested over £53.3 million on programmes and content made in and for Northern Ireland, as well as £20.1 million on programmes made in Northern Ireland for audiences across the UK.

Locally, highlights have included True North, a series of documentaries looking at life in modern-day Northern Ireland; Nurses on The Frontline, which told the story of the nurses tending to the sick and injured during the Troubles; and award winning current affairs series Spotlight.

BBC Trustee for Northern Ireland, Aideen McGinley, said:

"Overall the BBC continues to deliver for audiences in Northern Ireland, with a particularly strong year for BBC TV, Radio Ulster celebrating its 40th birthday and Radio Foyle winning the PPI Award for best local station.  However we recognise more work needs to be done, to ensure that the BBC’s UK networks offer a fuller portrayal of contemporary and changing society in Northern Ireland.  As the current Charter draws to a close and we look ahead to the BBC of the 2020s, it’s vital that audience interests continue to be at the heart of decision making at the BBC.” 

Notes to Editors

1. The BBC Annual Report has been published here. This year for the first time the Annual Report is being formally laid in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament, and Welsh Assembly, in addition to the UK Parliament.
2. The BBC Audience Council Northern Ireland Annual Review has been published here.  The Audience Council’s Annual Review is the Council’s assessment of BBC performance in Northern Ireland in 2015/16.  The Council represents the views and interests of audiences in Northern Ireland to the BBC Trust. 
3. Over the past year, the Audience Council Northern Ireland held twelve events and discussions with BBC audiences, reaching hundreds of people who shared their views about BBC services.  In November the BBC Trust hosted a public seminar in Belfast with over 70 representatives from the creative industries and other sectors, as part of its consultation on the future of the BBC for the next Charter period.