CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Glasgow Theses Service Creative Industries Policy and Practice: A Study of BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen Lynne Alison Hibberd BA (Hons), MPhil Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Glasgow Faculty of Arts and Humanities Centre for Cultural Policy Research Department of Theatre Film and Television Studies December 2008 © Lynne Alison Hibberd 2008 2 Abstract This thesis examines creative industries policy in film and television in Scotland. It explores the impact that different approaches to creative industries policy have on creative practice in two media industries, BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen, and reflects on how each of these bodies articulates its role as a „national‟ institution. BBC Scotland is the Scottish branch of the UK‟s largest public service broadcaster, while Scottish Screen exists on a far smaller scale, to serve the screen industries in Scotland. The thesis examines the role of BBC Scotland in sustaining the creative economy and contributing to the cultural life of Scotland. The study of Scottish Screen examines a key early aim of the agency, that of establishing a national film studio. The work investigates the connections between UK and Scottish levels of creative industries policy in light of the debates over the future of public service broadcasting and the Scottish Executive‟s cultural policy framework. The study outlines how ideas of cultural creativity and its economic significance have developed, charts how these ideas have affected policy debate, and explores the extent to which devolution has affected film and television policy. By mapping the historical, sociological and political terrain, the research analyses the specificity of Scotland within the UK context and explores areas in which ideas of „the national‟ become problematic. In order to investigate how policy has impacted on the production of creative goods, a further three case studies are explored. These are the feature film Red Road (Arnold, 2006), an independent production company called The Comedy Unit, and a BBC Scotland television series, River City (BBC, 2002-date). The work concludes with an examination of the impact of contemporary policy developments, including the establishment of Creative Scotland and the Scottish Broadcasting Commission. 3 Table of contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 9 SCOTTISH DEVOLUTION .................................................................................................... 10 TECHNOLOGICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ............................................................. 13 CHAPTER 1. NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION ............................................... 18 FILM AND TELEVISION IN SCOTLAND ............................................................................... 19 FILM AND TELEVISION FOR SCOTLAND ............................................................................. 22 FILM AND TELEVISION REFLECTING SCOTLAND ............................................................... 26 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER 2. CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY .................... 29 THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES .............................................................................................. 29 THE NATIONAL CULTURAL STRATEGY ............................................................................ 32 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 39 DESK RESEARCH............................................................................................................... 39 CASE STUDIES .................................................................................................................. 44 INTERVIEWS ..................................................................................................................... 47 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 4. BBC SCOTLAND .................................................................................... 53 A HISTORY OF THE BBC IN SCOTLAND ............................................................................ 53 AUTONOMY AND AUDIENCES ........................................................................................... 56 THE CREATIVE ECONOMY ................................................................................................. 68 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 77 CHAPTER 5. SCOTTISH SCREEN ............................................................................. 79 4 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 79 THE LAUNCH OF SCOTTISH SCREEN ................................................................................. 80 SCOTTISH SCREEN AND THE FILM STUDIO ........................................................................ 83 THE NATIONAL FILM STUDIO AND NATIONAL CINEMA ...................................................... 89 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 6. CASE STUDIES .................................................................................... 101 CASE STUDY 1: RED ROAD .............................................................................................. 101 CASE STUDY 2: THE COMEDY UNIT ............................................................................... 113 CASE STUDY 3: RIVER CITY ............................................................................................. 124 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 143 CHAPTER 7. POLICY DEVELOPMENTS: LOOKING FORWARD .................... 149 CREATIVE SCOTLAND .................................................................................................... 149 THE SCOTTISH BROADCASTING COMMISSION ................................................................ 152 LOOKING AHEAD ............................................................................................................ 158 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 161 APPENDIX A. INTERVIEWS ..................................................................................... 168 APPENDIX B. THE SCOTTISH BROADCASTING COMMISSION PUBLIC FORUM ............................................................................................................................ 170 APPENDIX C. RIVER CITY TALENT ....................................................................... 172 APPENDIX D. RIVER CITY VIEWING FIGURES .................................................. 174 FILMOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 179 GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ 182 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 184 5 List of figures FIGURE 1 BBC NON-NETWORK OUTPUT IN SCOTLAND .......................................................... 59 FIGURE 2 ALL BROADCASTERS' SPEND ON NATIONS AND REGIONS OUTPUT, 2002-2008 ........ 59 FIGURE 3 THE BBC SCOTLAND BUILDING AT PACIFIC QUAY ................................................ 70 FIGURE 4 BBC SCOTLAND'S INCOME AND OUTPUT HOURS .................................................... 75 FIGURE 5 BBC SCOTLAND'S INCOME AND OUTPUT FOR SCOTLAND ...................................... 76 FIGURE 6 BBC SCOTLAND'S INCOME AND OUTPUT FOR NETWORK BROADCAST .................... 76 FIGURE 7 RIVER CITY'S WEEKLY REACH (000S), 2003-2008 ............................................... 133 FIGURE 8 RIVER CITY'S WEEKLY REACH (%), 2003-2008.................................................... 134 FIGURE 9 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE SHARE, 2003-2008 ........................................................ 134 FIGURE 10 EASTENDERS AUDIENCE SHARE IN SCOTLAND 2003-2008 ................................. 135 FIGURE 11 RIVER CITY’S AUDIENCE 2002 ............................................................................ 174 FIGURE 12 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2003 ............................................................................ 174 FIGURE 13 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2004 ............................................................................ 175 FIGURE 14 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2005 ............................................................................ 175 FIGURE 15 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2006 ............................................................................ 176 FIGURE 16 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2007 ............................................................................ 176 FIGURE 17 RIVER CITY'S AUDIENCE 2008 ............................................................................ 177 FIGURE 18 RIVER CITY ANNUAL VIEWING