A proposal to cut back peak-time news on BBC Scotland - which will include ending the channel's flagship news bulletin The Nine - has been approved by Ofcom. In February, the BBC announced a raft of changes to news programming, which included replacing the hour long Nine with a 30-minute news programme at 1900 on the same channel and increased investment in online news. Ofcom ruled that the changes were "appropriate" for the BBC's public purposes and that the corporation's wider plans "have the potential to meet the changing needs of audiences in Scotland.
" The media regulator stated it would continue to assess the changes once they take place and report back on them next year. The Nine started broadcasting in February 2019 from an open-plan studio space on the third floor at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow. It provides a mix of news from Scotland, the UK and around the world.
However, attention on the programme in recent years has often focused on low viewing figures - leading MSPs to quiz BBC Scotland director Steve Carson on the matter. Mr Carson said The Nine reached more than 100,000 viewers every week and Friday to Sunday bulletin The Seven - which will also be axed - reached more than 20,000. Ofcom analysis found that The Nine's average audience had fallen year on year since 2020, to an average of about 10,000 in 2023.
During the February announcement, Mr Carson said the changes would "play to our strengths as an innovative broadcaster that delivers high-qual.