BBC in secrecy row as 
it refuses to reveal cost 
of Scots digital channel

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 19:43, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 19:46, 15 August 2026 The BBC is at the centre of a secrecy row after refusing to disclose how much has been spent on its digital channel in Scotland. It declined to provide figures for spending on BBC Scotland, the total expenditure since its creation or audience data. BBC Scotland was launched in February 2019 as a dedicated channel for Scottish audiences. It has been repeatedly criticised over its low viewing figures and poor value for money. The failure to disclose the latest spending figures following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has been condemned by critics. Tory MSP Craig Hoy said: ‘The BBC cannot expect licence fee payers to pay for a TV channel while they refuse to come clean about these basic details. ‘After years of concerns over BBC Scotland’s value for money, it is extraordinary that they now claim they do not hold this information on the channel’s spending and viewing figures. ‘Licence fee payers deserve transparency. The BBC must stop hiding behind an FOI process and publish the figures.’ The corporation claimed it could not provide the financial figures as it no longer reports spending in the way it once did. Others argue that a change in accounting should not prevent the corporation from explaining how much public money has been invested in its services. In 2025 The Nine was scrapped due to low viewing figures The Nine was replaced with Reporting Scotland: News at Seven, presented by Amy Irons Previous figures published before the BBC changed its policy showed the channel has cost more than £200million since its launch. A media academic questioned the broadcaster’s approach, warning that a lack of transparency risked undermining public confidence. John Cook, a professor of media at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: ‘The BBC always needs to take care to be transparent with its licence fee payers in Scotland – the public who actually fund it. ‘Accountability on how much BBC Scotland costs should be a matter of simple public record. Otherwise the BBC leaves itself open to charges of obfuscation and evasion.’ The BBC said the way audiences consumed content had changed since the channel was launched and costs were now considered across a range of services rather than individual platforms. In July, the BBC’s annual report revealed its overall spending on programmes commissioned in Scotland has fallen by more than 11 per cent in the past year. Expenditure slumped from £131million to £116million. It came after it emerged only one in eight Scots watched the BBC Scotland channel each week last year, raising doubts over its future. In 2025, news show Reporting Scotland: News at Seven, presented by Amy Irons, replaced The Nine, which was scrapped due to low viewing figures. At one point it reached just 1,700 people. The BBC in Scotland is facing cuts of £10million and the loss of up to 60 jobs as part of a bid to slash a total of 550 roles from the organisation’s operations across the UK. It emerged earlier this year that the number of UK households paying the BBC licence fee fell by more than 500,000 last year. A BBC spokesman said: ‘We are moving away from reporting spend on our TV, radio and online services to a genre-based view, recognising that content is consumed across multiple platforms. ‘For example, Scotcast [a podcast] is available across two TV channels, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Assigning its budget to a single channel would not reflect how it is produced and distributed.’