AFTER years of discussion, protest and pressure about the role of the BBC in Scotland, it looks like the idea of a Scottish Six news programme is finally dead. However, in its place is a new idea: a dedicated Scottish digital channel featuring an hour-long news programme at 9pm. There will be different views about whether the innovation really means the BBC is serving Scotland better, but everyone can agree on one thing: no one was expecting this.

According to the BBC’s director general Tony Hall, writing in The Herald, the new channel means more money for programmes from Scotland, about Scotland. Lord Hall also reiterates what he is trying to achieve in launching the new channel. The BBC needs to reflect and serve Scotland better, he says, and make its news coverage as relevant as possible to audiences north of the border.

The problem for the BBC has been that, with devolution, the news broadcast from London sometimes leads with stories that have no direct relevance in Scotland and leaving BBC1’s 6pm news as it is means that situation will essentially continue. However, what viewers will have instead is, for want of a better term, a Scottish Nine and that will mean a much greater scope to present major UK stories from a Scottish perspective, which is welcome. The extra £19m investment and 80 new jobs, and the prospect of more home-grown drama, is also good news for Scottish broadcasting.

Naturally, there will be a part of the Scottish audience who will not be happy with the decision and already some nationalist commentators are expressing their dissatisfaction. It is also unclear how those who told a recent poll for this newspaper that they believed the BBC was biased against Scottish independence will view the launch of the new channel.

However, in announcing the new channel, the BBC has found a third way in the face of several conflicting pressures. Had they launched a Scottish Six, they would have been accused by some of “caving into the nats”. On the other hand, the option of sticking to the status quo was out of the question as it would have looked like the BBC did not care about Scotland. Instead, it will launch a new hour-long news programme which has the potential to answer some, but not all, of the concerns which have been raised about its coverage post-devolution.

As for the financial side of the deal, it is undoubtedly good news. The BBC is having to make cuts of £800m across the UK, but it has also recognised that it needs to spend more of the money it raises through the licence fee in Scotland on Scottish projects and the new channel goes some way to improving that situation. In fact, as Lord Hall points out, the new channel represents the biggest single investment by the BBC in broadcast content in Scotland for 20 years and that is not to be sniffed at.

The longer-term test will come when the channel gets underway next year. The BBC has now recognised that in a country that is changing, it needs to change too. But in 2018, its critics will be watching the new channel closely to see if it meets one simple test: do the programmes reflect Scotland as it really is?