Scottish Television will be allowed to cut the amount of its non-news public service programming in half, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said yesterday.

Scottish Television will be allowed to cut the amount of its non-news public service programming in half, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said yesterday.

In a report into the future of public service broadcasting (PSB), Ofcom also said that, from 2010, STV would require additional funding from some other sources if it is to continue its current level of non-commercial output.

In the UK overall, Ofcom said up to £235m was required by 2012 to keep public service broadcasting on the networks in addition to the BBC. In the meantime, it has reduced ITV's PSB obligations to make its non-commercial broadcasting "sustainable" in the near future.

Yesterday Ofcom also said that the Scottish Network, the new Scottish TV station which was the key recommendation in the Scottish Broadcasting Commission's report published earlier this month, could be one of a number of channels bidding for PSB funds in the future.

Ofcom's biggest fear is that ITV, for financial reasons, decides to withdraw from its PSB obligations altogether in the near future, leaving viewers with the BBC and Channel Four providing such services. ITV is already seeking to rationalise its regional news delivery in England and southern Scotland from 17 separate main programmes to nine.

In Scotland, Ofcom has proposed that, to ease financial pressures on the Scottish commercial station, STV can cut non-news programming from three to one-and-a-half hours per week, from 2009.

However, it is still obligated to maintain its peak-time news - Scotland Today - and current affairs shows.

Elsewhere in the review, Ofcom said it supported the controversial proposal to do away with a separately produced news bulletin for the Border region, which will be merged with Tyne Tees in the north-east of England.

News of the proposed cuts were met with anger from campaigners and politicians last night, although STV welcomed the report.

Vicki Nash, director of Ofcom in Scotland, said the current model of funding was "unsustainable". "Extra funding from the Scottish Government will be needed," she said. Sources suggest this funding could be as high as £10m.

Content such as children's programmes, current affairs, films and comedy, regional news and single dramas are becoming increasingly commercially unattractive, Ofcom added.

Ofcom's Kate Stross, its director of content, said at a briefing in Glasgow: "Our firm conclusion is that the current model of ITV provision is broken. The status quo is simply not an option for the future."

STV's non-news programming includes the Five Thirty Show, Postcode Challenge and Politics Now, shows which STV says it is "over-delivering".

Blair Jenkins, the former BBC executive who led the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, commented: "The Network is mentioned a few times in the report, which we will have to digest properly in the coming days, but I think the idea is now part of this process.

"I said the Scottish Network was the missing piece in the jigsaw in broadcasting in Scotland and this report does nothing to contradict that."

An STV statement said: "The current model is economically unsustainable for commercial broadcasters and we need to find a way to effectively fund this demand. We are considering our response to the review and will continue to engage fully with Ofcom."

Bobby Hain, managing director of broadcasting for the station, added: "We agree that separate funding is necessary to maintain news at current levels and we will continue to work with Ofcom to identify potential sources of funding. We remain committed to delivering PSB."

Christine Grahame, SNP MSP for the south of Scotland, said the Border proposals were a "complete disgrace".

She added: "Given the geographical spread across the south of Scotland, Borderers will be lucky if they get two minutes per day in local television news.

"In reality these proposals from Ofcom effectively spell the end of local television news covering issues in the Scottish Borders."

Ofcom proposed three new funding models for the future of PSB in the UK in its report.

Any PSB licence after 2014 would be likely to cover the whole of Scotland, with the Scottish part of the Border region incorporated within an all-Scotland service.

Pete Wishart MP, SNP spokesman for broadcasting - which is not a devolved issue - said: "This would be a backward step for broadcasting, just at a time when public and industry opinion has said we need a better and more relevant service for people in Scotland.

"For Ofcom to actually encourage this is simply staggering."

Labour in Scotland also said it would campaign against proposed changes.

Ofcom's consultation will run until December 4 and it will publish a final statement early next year, setting out further details on the long-term models it has set out.

The government and the Westminster parliament will then consider the issues it has raised.

How the PSB cake might be cut

• Ofcom accepts that the proposed merger between Border and Tyne Tees news should go ahead.
  
• For STV, Ofcom proposes cutting minimum requirements for non-news regional programming from three to 1.5 hours a week from 2009. Elsewhere, the minimum regional non-news quota falls from 30 to 15 minutes a week.
  
• Ofcom suggests four long'term PSB models, with one where only the BBC provides PSB content ruled out.
  
• Another has the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five having PSB obligations. ITV would focus on UK-originated content, Channel 4 an extended remit and Five on news and children's programming.
  
• The third involves public funding for the BBC and Channel 4 as ITV channels and Five lose their PSB status.
  
• The final model is competitive funding. All channels but the BBC would be in competition, with the BBC remaining as the PSB cornerstone.