Byline: Katrine Bussey
SCOTLAND'S qualifying matches for international football tournamentsshould be shown live on terrestrial television, a report said yesterday.
The BBC Audience Council for Scotland called for such matches to be added tothe list of sporting 'crown jewels' - events which must be made available tomainstream, freeto-air broadcasters.
The national side's home matches are currently broadcast on subscriptionchannel Sky Sports.
But in its report, the BBC Audience Council for Scotland - which advises theBBC Trust on how well the network is doing from a licence payer's perspective -said that should change.
It called on the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) at Westminsterto add the international qualifying games to the list of high-profile sportingevents which must be made available for free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters.
In its report, the council said that 'in spite of the best efforts of the BBC'many of Scotland's key qualifiers for Euro 2008 were not shown live on the BBCor other free-to-air channels.
It added that the matches that were shown achieved some of the highestaudiences of the year for BBC Scotland.
The report said: 'The Department of Culture, Media and Sport lists certainevents which must be made available for free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters.
'They are defined as those 'generally felt to have a special nationalresonance' and should 'contain an element which serves to unite the nation'.
'The council recommends that, as part of an impending review, the DCMS add thequalifying stages of international football competitions to the list of eventswhich must be made available to terrestrial broadcasters.' The report comesafter First Minister Alex Salmond demanded action from both broadcasters andWestminster to ensure Scotland's qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup, withstriker James McFadden likely to be leading the line, are shown on terrestrialTV.
The Scottish Broadcasting Commission has also said that good arguments havebeen made for adding Scotland's qualifiers for both the World Cup finals andthe European Championship to the protected list of events.
Concern was also raised about the coverage of Scottish affairs in the wake ofdevolution.
A BBC Trust report last month said the corporation needed to improve the range,clarity and precision of its coverage of what was happening in the differentparts of the UK.
Yesterday's report revealed that members of the BBC Audience Council forScotland were 'concerned that coverage of post-devolution Scottish affairs onthe various BBC networks was not sufficiently accurate or comprehensive, orgiven due weight'.
The council also found that international coverage and much of the UK coveragemet the high standards expected by viewers of the BBC.
But it added: 'The council remains unconvinced that network coverage ofScottish affairs is always sufficiently accurate or comprehensive, or given dueweight.' The report said coverage of UK affairs too often failed to takeaccount of Scottish perspectives and added that, on devolved matters, there wasa relative over-provision of stories from England.
It stated: 'Nearly ten years after the opening of the new Scottish parliament,and despite evident effort, BBC network news in its reporting of the UK stilltoo often addresses an English audience rather than one composed of licencepayers from across the whole of the UK.' The council said improving coverage ofScottish affairs on BBC networks should be a key priority, as well asincreasing network commissions from Scotland on BBC TV and radio.
Jeremy Peat, BBC trustee for Scotland and chairman of the audience council,said the two matters would be closely monitored.
The council also identifies other priorities for the coming year, including thelaunch of the new Gaelic digital service and improving radio reception in theHighlands..
