15. Letter from Ofcom to Dr Julian Lewis
MP
MERIDIAN TELEVISION
Thank you for your letter of 4 December. I am
sorry for the delay in responding but I have now 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. I shall deal with as many of the
points raised by Ms Phipps in her letter to you as I can.
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, colleagues
here 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. 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
meet their network and regional public service obligations and
compete in a world where 50% of UK homes have multi-channel television.
You and Ms Phipps 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, edit 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 the kind of 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.
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 will be interpreted and
are establishing arrangements to gather the necessary data for
ITV to demonstrate that there is a reasonable geographic spread
in the sourcing of network programmes.
I realise that for many staff employed at Meridian
that this is a very worrying time, not knowing if their employment
will continue in the region or outside. 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.
19 December 2003
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