Moves to loosen Scottish Television's ties with the network are coming ahead of Home Rule. Iain S Bruce reports.
A small move for Home and Away may not seem like a giant step for the future of television but it could signal the first shot in a wide-ranging shake-up of Scottish Television's schedules, marking an even greater focus on local programming.
The veteran Aussie soap is set to shift to the slightly earlier ''schoolkids and housewives'' slot of 5.10pm.
At first glance, not perhaps the most significant shake-up in the history of broadcasting, but one which suggests that, while many ITV network scheduling decisions have traditionally suited viewers in the South more than they have the Scots, things may be about to change.
In the vanguard of Scottish Television's first foray into Scottish cultural devolution will be Boxed Set, a new Sunday night music programme hooked on the Scottish scene. Kicking off with an hour-long special filmed during Ocean Colour Scene's recent Stirling Castle concert, the show promises a line-up of features and live studio performances from acts that include the Supernaturals, John Martyn, Republica, and the Corrs. With a broad editorial remit, the programme's makers hope to attract viewers from across a broad spectrum of tastes.
''Music is a big thing for us,'' says Scottish Television controller Scott Ferguson. ''The problem is that everyone has different tastes, and so music shows tend to factionalise the viewers, making it difficult to attract large audiences. By featuring a rather eclectic mix, we hope to offer people the chance to encounter types of music they might not have heard before, a platform to try it and see.''
The changes go further than just the introduction of Boxed Set and its companion programme Artery (the Scottish theatre, arts, and entertainment show that began transmission last Sunday) to the autumn schedules. While Home and Away will continue to air at 6pm across the rest of Britain, viewers north of the Border will be treated to a series of shows including Extra Time, the US sitcoms Dharma and Greg and Veronica's Closet, and three game shows, rotating through the same slot.
Ferguson says: ''This is the beginning of some significant changes on Scottish. STV has always had sovereignty from the ITV network but that hasn't been used as much as it should have been - this will change in the future. We have always been different, but will be becoming more and more so over the next year.''
Ferguson admits that one of the aims of his scheduling changes is to make it more attractive to the younger viewer and thus help to secure the station's future audience share: ''The young market is clearly growing up into the commercial audience of tomorrow. What was youth interest three years ago is mainstream today.''
However, his plan is not without risk. Dharma and Greg, previously buried in a late-night slot, is a lively comedy with some slightly risque content and Veronica's Closet sets Kirstie Alley in a lingerie store, a situation that surely cries out for the light application of a little lewd humour. There is a slight possibility that his more genteel viewers might take offence at such early evening viewing, he admits, but in reality the shows are ''no friskier than something like Jerry Springer''. He goes on: ''We're very aware of our licence obligations and took a careful look at this, but Channel 4 have Friends in the same slot and it, being essentially about relationships, can be a little bit racy, too. I don't envisage any problems.''
It is almost certainly no coincidence that moves to loosen Scottish Television's ties with the ITV network should come just as Scotland prepares for devolution and the 1999 elections for the first batch of MSPs.
Historically, the country has witnessed a cultural explosion every time sovereignty has risen up the political agenda and this time round, things are not expected to be any different.
Ferguson agrees that Scotland's cultural identity is shifting from the regional to the national and that, in cultural terms at least, the Parliament is already laying the foundations for a country capable of standing on its own: ''It is an enormously significant event. The areas where spending in 1999 will be significantly higher are in politics and the arts - that's directly influenced by the elections. They will be huge, the television event of the year.''
The spend on arts for Scottish's autumn schedule currently stands at #500,000, with more promised next year. Ferguson adds: ''I do detect an increase in interest in Scotland and Scottishness that devolution must have been a very significant factor in bringing about.''
n Boxed Set begins on Thursday on Scottish Television at 10.35pm.
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