Two facts are certain following the announcement that the BBC are unlikely to continue their coverage of the World Pipe Band Championships.
Firstly, ceasing said coverage is a breach of their charter whereby they are duty bound to record and promote the traditional arts in the country they serve as public service broadcaster.
By The Editor
Second the current set up is in need of change. Tired and lacking in subjectivity, the happy smiley wrap up show is a difficult watch for anyone serious about the pipe band art.
It does, however, reach into the non-pipe band fraternity, though I am not sure if the viewing figures have justified the financial outlay.
The live streaming is another matter. This has helped spread our music around the world and has done Scotland no end of good. It helps the championship bring in millions locally and nationally.
The public relations benefits would be hard to quantify but I can think of no better way to advertise all that is good about Caledonia and its traditions.
The BBC accountants clearly did not consider any of this when they when they sat down with their balance sheets – and looming over them should have been considerable pressure from the Scottish Government.
They have done dashed little as far as I can see for piping or pipe bands in the last couple of decades, so here is a good opportunity for our culture secretary Màiri McAllan to flex some muscle. She should at least now ask them for the details behind their decision.
Ms McAllan is also minister for Gaelic. Could she not insist on Worlds coverage being brought under Scottish control at BBC Alba, the Gaelic medium station which has its own funding outwith the clutches of Broadcasting House in London?
Alba produces quality shows on folk music, and its piping programme presenter Micheal Steele, is admired by all of us who listen to his ‘Crunluath’ and ‘Piping Sounds’ shows.
Make Micheal the presenter at the Green; scale back on the outside broadcast pantechnicons – look at what Big Rab can achieve with his set up. Quality, less intrusive coverage is possible with modern technology and editing suites.
If Alba can’t play ball then the RSPBA should sign a deal with Rab to allow him to livestream on YouTube with a new presenter linking things together with critique or other comment. Sell advertising for the gaps, get a sponsor.
Things have moved on since I, through the Piping Times, launched the successful petition to have the Worlds televised back in 2005. Pressure from our readers, and help from Mervyn Herron and Tommy Millar in Northern Ireland, bore fruit and gave us twenty years of Bob ‘n Bird.
But nothing is forever and we should see this watershed as an opportunity to establish new faces and a new approach.
The championship belongs to the RSPBA and therefore, by right, their member bands. They have a very valuable commodity on their hands.
Without worries over the BBC’s advertising strictures they can now sell the space round the Grade 1 arena just as they do at football matches.
As they seek alternatives, the Association has announced that they are ‘currently in discussions with a number of potential broadcast partners’.
This is good news. They, and the promoter Glasgow Life, would be derelict in their duty if they didn’t ensure that the live broadcast of the Worlds continues.
A unique digital collection… click on pic to order
Long out of print… click on pic to order