Nae sae fast

Witchfinder Bakhurst of Ofcom has called in the BBC's plans for a second tv channel in Scotland for a full BBC Competition Assessment. Kevin has rejected a short form of assessment open to him, and the final decision will only come in July. In his letter to the BBC, Kev is pretty snotty about the BBC's own Public Interest Test.  Meanwhile, the BBC has already started recruiting the first of 80 extra journalists deemed necessary to deliver the new channel's nightly international and national news at 9pm.

Kevin has been whipped into a frenzy by 17 responses to an Ofcom invitation to comment. Here's his summary of what they were worried about...

Many respondents welcomed the BBC’s proposal, acknowledging its potential value to Scottish audiences, and benefit to growth in the Scottish media sector. However, respondents also raised a number of concerns. Some questioned whether the channel was adequately funded to deliver a quality service, generating significant public value. Others considered aspects of the BBC’s proposal could have a substantial impact across the media sector, in particular by crowding out competition. Finally, many respondents challenged what they perceived to be a lack of detail in the BBC’s proposal, and the absence of the detailed economic analysis which the BBC had used to make its assessment of potential market impact.

All respondents agreed that the proposal represented a material change to the BBC’s UK Public Services. Most respondents considered that it would be appropriate for Ofcom to assesss the BBC’s proposals via a BCA. However, some favoured a Shorter Assessment as they considered that a BCA could delay the launch of the BBC’s proposed service.