BBC viewers would be in a 'win win' situation if bosses north of the Border were given full control over how licence fee funds raised in Scotland are spent, it has been claimed.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop made the claim as she renewed her call for the corporation become a federal organisation, with decisions over programme commissioning and editorial decisions in Scotland handed to BBC Scotland.
She made the call ahead of an eagerly anticipated appearance before Holyrood's education and culture committee by Lord Hall, the director general of the BBC.
Ms Hyslop is also due to give evidence to the committee today.
MSPs are conducting an inquiry into the BBC as the Scottish Government contributes to its charter renewal process, which will form the basis for the corporations operations over the next decade
The Scottish Government wants the corporation to operate under a federal structure, with separate boards made up of BBC staff and independent members in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland.
It has also demanded a ''fairer share'' of the overall BBC budget to be transferred to BBC Scotland and the development of a distinct BBC Scotland TV channel and an additional radio station.
Ms Hyslop said: "A federal structure would empower the BBC to better reflect the needs of the nations and regions it serves, giving BBC Scotland full control over decision making in terms of how revenue raised here is spent.
"Full control over commissioning and editorial decisions would have an enormously positive impact."
The corporation has supplied the committee with figures showing Scots are more likely to watch BBC TV than people in the rest of the UK.
A BBC spokesman said: "We spend around £200 million per year in Scotland where audiences are very high users of the BBC, including UK-wide services.
"We're proud of the content we produce in Scotland but have acknowledged we can better represent and portray Scottish audiences on all BBC services.
"We also think that in a new Charter, decisions about how we best serve audiences in Scotland with dedicated services should be made within Scotland."
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