BBC boosts funding for Scotland and Wales
The BBC has announced major funding increases to help boost production in Scotland and Wales.
New TV channel BBC Scotland will get £19m of investment and will broadcast from 7pm every evening when it’s launched in autumn 2018, while the existing service BBC Alba is also set to get additional funding.
“The BBC is Britain's broadcaster but we also need to do more for each nation just as we are doing more for Britain globally,” said Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC.
“We know that viewers in Scotland love BBC television, but we also know that they want us to better reflect their lives and better reflect modern Scotland. It is vital that we get this right.
“The best way of achieving that is a dedicated channel for Scotland. It’s a channel that will be bold, creative and ambitious, with a brand-new Scotland-edited international news programme at its heart.”
The BBC’s investment in English-language programming in Wales is set to increase by 50% with an extra £8.5m of spending each year. New services will include a BBC Wales iPlayer Channel and the corporation will deliver more than 130 additional hours of Welsh programming each year.
“This new investment is tremendously welcome,” said Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Wales.
“Wales is blessed with superb storytellers, and this investment will give them a fitting national stage. By the time we move to our new home in Central Square in less than three years’ time, I believe the difference on screen will be clear to audiences the length and breadth of our nation.”
Wales is already a hugely popular filming location for both domestic and international movies and TV series. Shoots benefit from the country’s unique locations and historic architecture, as well as from the UK’s filming incentive support.
Image: BBC
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