Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Minutes of Evidence


Examination of Witnesses (Questions 300-301)

MS JANE LIGHTING AND MS SUE ROBERTSON

13 MARCH 2007

  Q300  Chairman: Michael Grade told us that in the long-term he did not see any originated children's programming surviving on the main ITV channel. He told us that he did not think news regional programming would continue on the main ITV channel. Do you think you can sustain your present mix or do you also think you are going to have to draw back from some of these areas?

  Ms Lighting: It is absolutely my intention that we sustain the level of children's programming that we do, or something close to it.

  Q301  Chairman: And all the others, programmes about global warming or the lack of it and all the other—

  Ms Lighting: Absolutely. I think one of the strengths of a public service broadcaster is the breadth of its offering. The minute, I believe, you drop important areas like the news or children's and you fail to have that breadth of coverage, you become one of the many, and therein describes the whole of multi-channel. I think there are many merits in being a public service broadcaster: standing, and reputation is also important, as is breadth of coverage.

  Chairman: The Committee has already commended you in the past for maintaining the coverage of cricket on terrestrial television, so we are pleased to hear it. Thank you very much.





 
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