CTV resists chance to cut news output

Saturday 27th September 2008, 9:29AM BST.

CHANNEL Television has the option to produce fewer news and current programmes under money-saving plans announced by regulator Ofcom.

But head of news and content Alan Watts said that it was unlikely the station would change what it was producing.

‘Ofcom came up with a number of funding models and now it is refining them,’ he said. ‘In order to save money, it has proposed reducing some broadcasters’ minimum combined news and affairs quota from four-and-a-half hours per week to four hours per week.’

He emphasised that this figure is a minimum and was well below what CTV produces at present.

‘Channel Television currently generates more like six hours a week anyway, so this proposal doesn’t really impact on us much at this stage,’ he said. ‘We will continue to provide the same service.’