Independence a deterrent to Channel 4 move, Sturgeon warned

It came after Ms Sturgeon spoke at length about how she would like Channel 4 to move its HQ to Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon also said the BBC should deliver equal pay faster, following the row over female presenters’ wages, and complained its new Scottish channel was under-funded.

The Conservatives pledged in their manifesto to move Channel 4 out of its £100m base in London, despite the broadcaster’s objections.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds and Bradford have all expressed an interest in the move which could add £5bn to the local economy over 10 years.

Ms Sturgeon said she understood Channel 4’s reservations, but said the relocation idea had merit.

She said: “The Scottish Government has certainly make it clear that if Channel 4 does move out of London, Glasgow would be an ideal base.

“Channel 4 already has offices in Glasgow, and Glasgow is already a major creative industries hub, home to two other national broadcasters."

However she added relocation was “not an answer on its own” and the key to more Scottish shows was to ensure commissioning power was decentralised across the UK.

She conceded the government and Glasgow City Council, unlike some other cities, had not yet put forward a formal bid to attract the broadcaster, but added: “I think there is an opportunity to make a real push for that in Glasgow.”

In a Q&A session, David Strachan, managing director of Tern TV and vice-chair of Robert Gordon University, said: “I have heard whispers that an excuse for not doing that is that they [Channel 4] might be afraid that Scotland goes independent.

"How are you dealing with that?”

Ms Sturgeon replied: “I’m fairly confident we’ll still watch television in an independent Scotland. We live in a global age in terms of these things, and while, of course, there are serious issues in your question, I think we need to step back from that.

“These issues are international and global and some of that is probably a bit ridiculous.”

Speaking next, Sophie Jones, head of Corporate Relations at Channel 4, did not correct Mr Strachan’s assertions, but merely said the decision would be “one for Channel 4 to make”.

A Scottish Tory spokesman said: “The best thing Nicola Sturgeon could do for culture and media jobs in Scotland is take the threat of independence off the table completely.

“Channel 4 is far from the only organisation put off coming north of the border because of the uncertainty caused by the SNP.”

Ms Sturgeon also complained Scotland was being “short-changed” over a new BBC Scotland digital channel due to go live next year with a £30m budget.

The First Minister said report produced 10 years ago had estimated the cost at £75m.

She said the BBC’s decision to broadcast the channel in standard definition when viewers increasingly expected high definition, especially for drama, could also “limit its appeal”

Only 72 per cent of the licence fee raised in Scotland was spent in Scotland, compared to 98 per cent for Wales and Northern Ireland, she said.

She said: “There are really legitimate questions about whether that [£30m] will be sufficient. It’s hard to escape the conclusion Scottish broadcasting, for all of the undoubted progress, is still being short-changed, and these are issues that still require to be addressed.”

Asked whether the BBC’s promise to close its gender pay gap by 2020 was good enough, Ms Sturgeon said: “I think the BBC should look to accelerate progress here. The Equal Pay Act was passed in the year I was born, which was not yesterday.

These issues have frankly been going on under the radar for too long. Well they’re not under the radar any more, and it’s time to up the progress.”

BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon said funding for the new channel was challenging but she would make the money go as far as possible.