A regulator’s finding the BBC breached its operating license by sharply cutting news and current affairs out of the north west is damning and damages the credibility of the broadcaster, Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said.
The decision to seek changes to the license rather than providing the required news content is a clear demonstration the north west is not a priority for the BBC, the SDLP representative said.
The BBC is to submit a formal request for permission to cut the number of hours of news and current affairs amid criticism from the regulator Ofcom it breached its operating licence in connection with Radio Foyle.
Internal miscommunication was blamed for the broadcaster’s failure to meet a quota of more than 1,000 hours allocated to news and current affairs on Radio Foyle.
Mr Eastwood said that when plans for cuts were first announced “communities in the North West were rightly angry”.
"The decision ignored the unique political, cultural and news environment that exists here, it undermined hardworking staff and it diminished the entire station,“ the MP said.
“It was, and remains, a bad call.”
He added: "The finding from Ofcom that the BBC breached its operating license by slashing news content in the North West is damning, it damages the credibility of BBC Northern Ireland as a broadcaster."
Ofcom, in its just published annual report on the BBC, said the broadcaster breached its operating licence by providing just 743 hours of content out of the north west, exactly 300 less than was promised over the year to the end of March 2024.
“The BBC will be submitting a request to amend the operating licence....to reflect the current output,” Ofcom wrote in its report.
“Once we receive this request, we will consult on and make a full assessment of the changes and whether we agree with the BBC’s proposals.
“We will consider what action to take about the breach of this quota following the conclusion of the consultation process.”
The BBC told Ofcom “that due to an internal miscommunication....it incorrectly believed it would still be able to meet its quota” of 1043 hours of broadcasts by Radio Foyle.
In 2023, the BBC cut the two-hour Radio Foyle breakfast show from two hours to just half and hour, prompting protests in Derry and elsewhere. In January, the broadcaster backpedalled to a degree with the launch of an hour long North West Today news programme
In a statement to BBC News, a spokesperson said: “We announced these changes in November 2022 and they were the subject of significant discussion.
“Ofcom approval hadn’t been sought at the time. We set out this mistake clearly in the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts in July 2024.”
Ofcom said the quotas are required so the BBC continues “to deliver content that reaches and serves all audiences”.
“This is particularly the case where the quotas are intended to reach and serve specific audience groups, such as in this instance, where Radio Foyle serves audiences in the North West of Northern Ireland,” it stated.
“Non-compliance with these quotas is a potentially serious matter.”
In a separate report on media in Scotland, Wales and the north, Ofcom reported that a larger proportion of adults listen to radio here than any other area.
More than six in ten adults in the north (65%) listened to local commercial radio at least once a week in the three months to the end of June, compared to Scotland (53%), Wales (49%) and England (49%).
Just under three in ten (29%) listened to the BBC’s nations/local stations at least once a week in the north. It is 19% in Scotland, 17% in Wales and 11% in England.
Ofcom noted the BBC broadcast 260 hours of minority language programmes, including Irish and Ulster-Scots, an increase of 12 hours on the previous year and 20 hours above its quota.
The regulator also said it “delivered programming that helps bring communities together”, including live coverage of the All-Ireland Football Final, which was broadcast not just in the north but across Britain.
