Bbc anger as 21 shows on new £32m scottish channel attract no viewers

No viewers tuned into the 21 programmes on the BBC’s new multimillion pound TV Scottish TV channel, prompting Scots to call into a radio show to express their outrage at the channel’s

programmes, which they branded “rubbish” and “pathetic”. Former BBC editor Tim Luckhurst told the Mail Online: “The figures are deplorable. But they simply confirm the central flaw in the

entire project; there was never a shred of audience demand for it. “It was launched in a forlorn attempt to please the SNP, a classic example of why the BBC should never bow to political

bullying.” Figures were provided by Overnights.TV, a research company for the the British Audiences Research Board (BARB) and were recorded between the February 24 launch and June 2.

Speaking before the launch, BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon said: “It would be folly to try too hard to anticipate numbers. We’re looking to achieve success over time.” Programmes on

offer on the new channel were talk and news shows called The Seven and The Collective. The worst-performing day for the channel itself was May 1, which drew in an average audience of 7,200

in core evening hours. The BBC argued some programmes were only on for a minute. A BBC Scotland spokesman said: “It is not unusual for digital television channels outwith the main five to

occasionally record zero audiences in Scotland under the BARB system. “Of the 21 instances during our core hours when zero audiences were recorded, seven of these were for one-minute

editions of The Seven just as the channel comes on-air. “The remaining 14 were all after 11pm, when television audiences to all channels are in sharp decline.” The news comes as the petition

opposing the BBC’s decision to axe free TV licences for the over-75s has now reached an eye-watering 1million signatures.