EXCLUSIVE: Digital station a key recommendation by Broadcasting Commission
By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor

THE creation of a new Scottish television channel is the key recommendation in the long-awaited Broadcasting Commission report to be unveiled tomorrow.

The commission, set up last year by the incoming SNP government, will call tomorrow for the development of a channel that would cover Scottish sport, news and other items also catered for by the BBC and existing networks.

It suggests the new channel should be funded on a "not-for profit" basis by the UK government through its policy for public broadcasting.

Alex Salmond, the first minister, gave the commission the task of investigating the future of television production and broadcasting north of the Border. It is understood that Salmond will throw his weight behind the commission's recommendation.

The SNP leader has been critical of the way the BBC and other terrestrial networks serve Scottish viewers, as well as criticising the major TV networks' low usage of production companies north of the border.

The stand-alone Scottish digital television channel envisaged by the commission would be based in Scotland and could resemble the new publicly funded Gaelic broadcasting channel.

The commission's near year-long inquiry also involved bosses from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 explaining how they could better cater for Scottish needs. The switchover to digital television is expected to be completed by 2012, so the new channel could be implemented within four years.

The Sunday Herald understands that members of the commission believe a Scottish channel could be funded on a "not-for-profit" basis as part of public service broadcasting.

Such a station could also, according to one member of the commission, cater for the so-called "Scottish Six", the flagship evening news programme which the SNP strongly supports.

As well as being supported by the Nationalists, a new Scottish channel would be likely to be backed by the Scottish Conservative party. It is unclear whether the commission will back the devolution of broadcasting control from Westminster to Holyrood, a plan that would be firmly resisted by the UK government.

Tory MSP Ted Brocklebank said: "I'm absolutely delighted to hear the commission has backed this, because we grabbed the idea early on. We were equally determined not to interfere with the BBC Six O'Clock News."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Broadcasting Commission said: "The Scottish Broadcasting Commission will be unveiling all its recommendations on Monday and will not be commenting in advance."

A spokesman for the BBC also declined to comment before the report was officially published.