9. Letter from Ofcom to Mr Iain McBride,
on behalf of the joint unions at Meridian TV in Maidstone
MERIDIAN TELEVISION
Thank you for your letter to Lord Currie of
10 December. I understand that you have written to a number of
his fellow Board Members and he has asked me to reply on their
behalf. We have had an opportunity to look into the important
matter of the delivery of Meridian's news obligations in the South
East sub-region and the proposals for new premises near Fareham.
Ofcom is mindful of the importance which Parliament
has attached to the continued delivery of regional news and other
programmes by Channel 3 licensees We are keen to ensure that viewers
are well-served in terms of regional programmes. While Ofcom's
regulatory powers are not vested until 29 December, a number of
us have met with senior directors in Granada, who of course own
the Meridian licence, following earlier discussions with the local
management. It is important that Ofcom understands and has confidence
in their strategy for ensuring continued investment in delivering
their regional programme and production obligations for the licences
which they control.
I believe it is important to make a distinction
between the size and nature of studio complexes, built and established
in an era of very different methods of programme-making and technology,
and the quality of the services delivered. Your letter acknowledges
the need for new investment. It is also vital that these companies
operate efficiently if they are to continue to invest in the programme
services at a level at which they can serve the public and compete
in a world where 50% of UK homes have multi-channel television.
You will be well aware that the television landscape
is very different from when Meridian won its licence in 1991.
In the case of Meridian's proposed changes in
Maidstone and the South East, Meridian's management has supplied
information on their plans which indicate that they are maintaining
significant resources in the sub-region, albeit in new premises
in which they are installing more technologically advanced digital
equipment. Colleagues here and in the south region have been given
detailed information that the reporting staff in the south East
will remain at its present strength, as will the camera teams.
The regional editor, news editor, programme producer and several
other newsroom-based journalists will also remain in the sub-region.
We understand that the new Maidstone operation will have a fully-equipped
newsroom and mini-studio with two-way transmission lines for down-the-line
interviews, editing equipment and be supported by a dedicated
satellite links truck to cover breaking stories and allow presentation
from time to time from locations in the South East. While presentation
of the news will come from Southampton, the news-gathering and
editorial decision-making will remain based in the South East.
This is a model that has operated successfully for Anglia Television
for more than a decade in delivering two different, targeted news
services for the East and West of their region while basing presentation
of the news in Norwich.
You mentioned bureaux which Meridian had failed
to provide. The ITC approved the dropping of Dover in exchange
for more inject points, Hastings replaced Tunbridge WelIs,and
the Isle of Wight replaced Basingstoke. All other bureaux have
been maintained.
As far as plans for the closure of the Southampton
studio complex is concerned, many of the same considerations apply
in terms of the need to upgrade equipment and operate from premises
more fit for purpose We recognise that these proposals impact
on network production from Southampton. There are a few important
points to make here. Meridian had originally intended to operate
as a publisher broadcaster without an in-house network operation.
With the acquisition of the old TVS studios, it has had periods
since 1993 where its success in gaining ITV network commissions
and work for other channels has fluctuated considerably. As you
will be aware the ITV networking arrangements must operate in
such a way that no individual ITV company or group has a guarantee
of commissions as suppliers are chosen on the basis of quality,
price and relevance to the schedule.
Ofcom must set and enforce regional production
quotas for production outside the M25 and ensure that a suitable
proportion of expenditure on ITV network programmes is referable
to a suitable range of production centres outside the M25. We
will be considering how this requirement should be interpreted,
and we are establishing arrangement to gather the necessary data
for ITV to demonstrate that there is a reasonable geographic spread
in the sourcing of network programmes.
We recognize that for many staff employed at
Meridian this is a very worrying time.; I hope that you can see
from the above that we have questioned the company closely about
its plans. I can assure you that we will be vigilant in ensuring
that Meridian meets its programme obligations to its region and
sub-regions but we must put our major focus on outputs and not
interfere in legitimate managerial, operational and investment
decisions that are a matter for the company.
18 December 2003
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