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17|11|08

PSB in Northern Ireland

Ofcom Northern Ireland hosted a major conference in Belfast last week as part of its consultation on the future of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Northern Ireland.

The conference was attended by 100 delegates from the broadcasting and independent production sectors.

They discussed how digital broadcasting is facing commercial pressures but how there could be new and exciting ways of delivering and watching programming.

Ofcom is currently consulting on three models for how PSB could be delivered and funded in the future.

PSB models

Speakers from BBC NI, Northern Ireland Screen, UTV, Channel 4 and the independent production sector argued the merits of each of the three models.

Delegates also heard from the Chairs of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission and the Welsh Assembly’s Broadcasting Committee, both of which have published reports for their respective nations recently.

Giving a local perspective was Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Culture, Arts & Leisure Committee – Barry McElduff MLA.

Delegates also heard representatives from Irish language and Ulster Scots groups discuss the future of indigenous language programming.

Competitive funding

The audience also took part in a debate on which of the three models would best suit Northern Ireland, how they could be funded and what impact the availability of Republic of Ireland TV channels in Northern Ireland might have.

All of the models see a central role for the BBC along with several alternatives for providing content such as news and other programming for Northern Ireland.

Whilst there was no clear consensus on any one model there was a consistently argued view that a competitive funding agency (like the existing Irish Language Broadcasting Fund) had a role to play.

Ofcom’s PSB consultation runs until 4 December 2008.

PSB blog

The consultation document includes an interactive executive summary where you can leave your comments.

We also want you to let us know your views by visiting our PSB blog and leaving your comments.

Once the consultation closes we expect to publish a final statement in early 2009.

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