MERIDIAN

Motion Text

That this House deplores the decision taken by Granada, the new owners of Meridian, to reduce the number of hours Meridian devotes to regional programming from fifteen-and-a-half hours to eight-and-a-half hours, a reduction of seven hours a week; suggests that the collapse of ITV Digital and the financial cost of that to Granada has contributed to that decision; recognises the strength and popularity of Meridian's regional programming including its political programming; and calls on Granada to reverse its decision, return to fifteen-and-a-half hours of regional programming per week and ensure that the time allocated to current affairs programming remains undiluted within Meridian's schedule.