BBC set to invest £11m in Northern Ireland in bid to enhance services

The additional funding will be used by BBC NI to transform its digital services across news, sport and other areas.

It will also be used to enhance local television content and boost its service to younger audiences.

According to the BBC, the additional funding will be used over the next three years for:

l An enhanced digital service from BBC News NI, with improved news coverage throughout the day and weekends;

l Greater coverage of local sport online, including live streaming of events across a range of sports;

l A 50% increase in commissioning spend on local television content;

l New digital content and services for younger audiences and new digital investment in radio;

l New content to mark major historical anniversaries in Northern Ireland.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the extra £11m meant there was “an extra onus on the BBC to be more open and transparent”.

The East Londonderry representative has been highly critical of the BBC’s refusal to disclose the salaries of its top paid presenters.

He told the News Letter yesterday: “The fact is that the BBC is funded through the public purse in the form of the licence fee, yet they are very secretive about what they spend some of that money on.

“The public is entitled to know what exactly they are paying for.”

Highlighting the extra funding for locally commissioned TV content, Mr Campbell urged the BBC “to be conscious of the need to be fair and unbiased”.

Previously, the DUP man had been critical of last year’s documentary film on the life and death of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, which was commissioned by the BBC, describing it as a “million miles from an accurate depiction”.

The BBC’s income in Northern Ireland was £99m in 2015/16. However, only £73.4m was spent by the BBC in the Province in 2015/16.

Welcoming the additional £11m funding, BBC director general Tony Hall said: “This is great news for BBC Northern Ireland, but more importantly, great news for audiences.

“It means more drama, factual and comedy content. All things we know the public love and want from the BBC.”

The BBC has also renewed its partnership agreement with Northern Ireland Screen.

This joint initiative has produced a number of successful programmes, including dramas Line Of Duty and The Fall, and children’s show Pablo, whose central character is a five-year-old boy on the autistic spectrum.

The increase in investment in Northern Ireland follows similar announcements in Scotland and Wales.

In February, the BBC announced it would be launching a dedicated Scottish television channel with a budget of £30m, as well as investing an additional £20m in TV programmes in Scotland.

That same month, the corporation also revealed it was investing an extra £8.5m a year for English language television programmes for Wales.