BBC Trust

A review published today by the BBC Trust has found that BBC services in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are vital to audiences in providing news and other core public service programming.

To improve its services, the Trust recommends the BBC should plan how it can provide more content online, examine how minority language services should evolve, and make meeting audience expectations on news output a specific part of the BBC’s overall annual performance assessment.

The review looked at news and current affairs services on TV and online made in and for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It also reviewed the performance of the BBC nations’ radio services, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, Radio Scotland, Radio nan Gàidheal, Radio Ulster/Foyle and Gaelic TV channel, BBC Alba.

Research carried out by the Trust found that audience expectations of BBC news are extremely high and that, while they mostly rate its programming highly, occasionally it falls short of expectations. This was particularly apparent in Scotland where significant performance gaps emerged between aspects of news programming audiences considered important and how they rated the BBC’s actual performance.

Audiences across all the nations also considered that the BBC needed to get better at holding decision makers to account in its news programmes. This was something the Trust’s review of local news and radio services in England picked up last year and this review has made a recommendation for the BBC to address this.

The BBC is currently working to see whether any changes need to be made to its network and nations’ news programming in the devolved nations to serve audiences better and the Trust is awaiting the results of this work.  

The review also found that the nations’ radio and TV services, while very popular, tend to reach older audiences and will need to find a way to modernise their offer to also remain relevant and appealing to younger audiences who are increasingly consuming more online. The review found BBC Wales’s launch of the popular Welsh app Cymru Fyw to be a positive example of the BBC embracing the growing use of mobile devices to receive content.

The Trust’s review also assessed the performance of the indigenous minority language services and found that their programming is highly valued by native speakers. However, with relatively small but broad target audiences and given the overall trend of falling reach to TV and radio services, they may need to evolve to continue delivering their remits in the future.  

BBC Trust Chairman Rona Fairhead said:

"The BBC has a unique obligation to serve all audiences and it is vital that in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales audiences feel that the BBC's content and services are both relevant to, and representative of, their lives today. 

"We are pleased this review shows audiences in the devolved nations have a high regard for the BBC and, where expectations are not being met, the BBC is working hard to change this.

"In the next Charter period I am committed to ensuring that the way in which the BBC serves nations’ audiences is a top priority for the new Board."

As a result of the review the Trust has made recommendations for the BBC to address:

• Online offer - The challenge of adapting to give more and varied BBC content online is accepted by the BBC and the Trust would like to see clear plans to address it across the nations when licence fee funding for the next few years is finalised. Timing: We expect this to be part of the next round of financial planning across the BBC.
• News and current affairs hours - Each nations’ radio station has consistently outperformed its commitment for hours of news and current affairs output so the Trust has increased the level of these conditions to reflect more recent levels. Timing: immediate
• Audience expectations of BBC news - Audience perceptions of BBC news are very strong overall but the evidence gathered for this review shows that audiences have extremely high expectations of the BBC and these are not currently being met.
  - In Scotland the challenge is particularly acute with many audience perceptions of news output are lower than average and we heard a very critical opinion from some members of the audience. The BBC is already making some programming changes and it will be important to make sure the impact of these is tracked.
  - In Northern Ireland audiences show a desire for more coverage of a broader range of subjects and a wider range of voices to keep pace with changes in society. Again BBC Northern Ireland is aware of this challenge and is working to address it.
  - In Wales the BBC will need to find ways to ensure audiences are kept informed about Welsh matters, and that their expectations in areas such as Welsh political coverage and holding decision-makers to account are fully met.
  - Across all nations, research showed us that the BBC’s ability to hold decision-makers to account does not meet expectations. This was also highlighted to us in the review of BBC local news services in England. We recommend that the BBC seeks to understand how it can meet audience expectations better across all services. Timing: The extent to which BBC nations’ news output meets audience expectations should be part of the BBC’s future annual performance assessment.
• Indigenous minority language output - The BBC provides language programming onBBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and BBC ALBA, as well as on BBC Northern Ireland services. Once BBC funding for the next licence fee period is finalised, the Trust recommends that the BBC agrees how its indigenous minority language services should evolve in the future. Timing: We expect this to be part of the next round of financial planning across the BBC.

Notes to editors

1. Each BBC service is reviewed against its licence at least once every five years. More information on service reviews carried out by the Trust can be found here along with links to the Trust’s 2011 review of the BBC’s radio services in the devolved nations and 2010 review of BBC ALBA.
2. The Trust’s work plan for 2016 set out its plans for reviewing the nations’ news and radio services in England.

The review launched in November 2015.