Gaelic Digital Service
Encyclopedia
BBC Alba is a joint-venture Scottish Gaelic language digital television
channel which is broadcast by the BBC
throughout the United Kingdom on satellite
, online and Virgin Media on Demand. It is also available live on Virgin Media
and Freeview in Scotland. The channel was launched at 21:00 on Friday 19 September 2008. The name Alba
is the Gaelic word for Scotland and reveals the channel's other owner, MG Alba.
The station is unique in that it is the first channel to be delivered under a BBC licence by a partnership and is also the first multi-genre channel to come entirely from Scotland with almost all of its programmes made in Scotland.
On-air for up to seven hours a day, BBC Alba broadcasts throughout the UK on satellite (Sky and Freesat
). BBC Alba was added to Virgin Media's cable television service on 18 May 2011 but is only available in Scotland, with select content made available through their on-demand service across the UK. Some programmes from the last seven days can be viewed online on BBC iPlayer
and the channel can also be watched live through iPlayer. After being approved by the BBC Trust, it has been broadcast on Freeview, in Scotland only, since 8 June 2011, making it available to all post-switchover households in Scotland. The channel is funded and operated jointly by MG Alba and the BBC
. Whilst the partnership runs the channel, Gaelic programming on BBC Two Scotland will continue at least until digital switchover takes place. The Gaelic Digital Service will also include BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
during downtime hours (alongside simulcasts of BBC Radio Scotland
& BBC Radio Five Live
) and online content.
A study carried out for the channel indicated that 650,000 people watched BBC Alba per week in the first two months of broadcasting, in spite of only being available to around a third of Scots.
BBC Alba now has an average viewership of 530,000 adults over the age of 16 in Scotland each week. Over 443,000 adults over 16 watch BBC Alba for more than 15 minutes each week. BBC Alba gets over 29,000 iPlayer hits every week as well - over 1.5 million per year.
opened a consultation for a Gaelic digital service in partnership will the Gaelic Media Service (now MG Alba). Following the BBC Trust consultation in November 2007, the Audience Council Scotland
recommended their support for the creation of the service on 7 December 2007, stating that the Trust should peruse carriage of the service on digital terrestrial television and that existing 'gaelic zone' programming on BBC Scotland
should remain after the launch. On 28 January 2008, the BBC Trust gave the go-ahead for a Gaelic channel.
song, Alba. The first part of a live celidh from Skye presented by Mary Ann Kennedy was followed by a specially produced comedy drama entitled Eilbheas (Elvis), starring Greg Hemphill
as Elvis Presley
, at 21:30. The channel's first independent commission, Peter Manuel – Deireadh an Uilc? (Peter Manuel - The End of Evil?), a drama documentary produced by STV Productions, was shown at 22:30 before the opening night closed with the second half of the live celidh from Skye. The launch night was simulcast on BBC Two Scotland between 21:00 and 22:30. There was also a launch event held at the National Museum of Scotland, which was recorded by the channel's news service An Là.
110) and it was hoped to be on Virgin Media
from launch. BBC Alba was made available on Virgin Media, in Scotland only, on 18 May 2011. During March 2009, BBC Alba programming was made available across the UK to Virgin Media customers on demand through BBC iPlayer and Catch Up On Demand. Some of the channel's content is also available on the BBC iPlayer website, alongside several third-party internet TV companies.
After being subject to a review by the BBC Trust and a recommendation from the Audience Council Scotland
in 2009, a plan was announced to broadcast the channel on Freeview, in Scotland only, from the digital switchover (2010) under the proviso that reach of the service extended beyond the core Gaelic audience to 250,000. This was approved on 27 December 2010 by the BBC Trust and the service launched on Freeview channel 8 on 8 June 2011.
, radio
and on-line programme content, and is anticipated to have a positive impact at many levels including increasing artistic and technical skills, extending economic opportunities, stimulating parents' interest in Gaelic medium education
, appealing to and serving the adult learners and strengthening Gaelic usage in extremely important media. It holds significant potential to assist with the development of positive attitudes to the acquisition and transmission of Gaelic. BBC Alba broadcasts more Scottish sport than any other channel, with over 3 hours a week of football, rugby and shinty. In addition, the station also broadcasts a live news programme for 30 minutes every weekday.
Children's programmes are shown for two hours every weekday, between 17:00 and 19:00. Current affairs series Eòrpa
and children's magazine show Dè a-nis?
are broadcast on Thursday nights on BBC Alba and also continue to be shown on BBC Two Scotland at their usual timeslots on Thursdays.
A nightly half-hour news programme, An Là
, is aired on weeknights at 20:00 with newsreaders Angela Maclean and Iain Maclean. Radio Personality of the Year, Derek 'Pluto' Murray, is their resident sports reporter. Spòrs
on Saturday nights features weekly coverage of a selected SPL match. Rugby Beo broadcasts one live Magners League rugby union game a week, involving one of the competition's Scottish teams. A Gaelic-learning programme, Speaking our Language
is re-broadcast on weeknights at 7:30pm. Former Eòrpa reporter, Derek Mackay hosts a weekly chat show, Cnag na Cùise, on Sunday nights. So far 2 series of current affairs documentary ‘Trusadh
’ has been commissioned as of 2010, which is sometimes presented by Donald MacSween.
subtitles. For logistical reasons, live broadcasts (including the news) are not subtitled, although certain events (e.g. the annual Hogmanay
broadcast Bliadhna Mhath Ùr) have scripted elements that are subtitled, while interviews and ad-libbed lines are not.
Children's programmes are not subtitled.
and shinty
.
The station broadcasts one full SPL
game every Saturday night - an arrangement due to continue until the end of the 2009-10 season. The game shown is a selected one not covered by either live Sky Sports
or on an on-demand basis by BT Vision
and shown three hours after the end of the match. The match only includes Gaelic commentary along with English subtitles.
The channel reached an agreement with the Scottish Football League
to broadcast live football games during the 2008–09 season. This began with the final of the Challenge Cup, which was also sponsored by MG Alba. BBC Alba then started broadcasting First Division
games, beginning with the match between and on 22 February 2009.
BBC Alba recently struck a deal with the Scottish rugby authorities to show one live rugby, Scottish Premiership Division One match every weekend.
In 2010 BBC Alba bought the rights for Celtic League rugby
jointly with public service broadcasters from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
BBC Alba has four studios across Scotland in Stornoway
, Glasgow
, Inverness
and Portree
. Continuity and channel management is based in Stornoway while the news services are based in Inverness. A short pre-recorded information program called Dè Tha Dol is sent from Stornoway and is played out at 7:55pm daily. BBC Scotland
's headquarters at Pacific Quay
in Glasgow is used to transmit the programmes. The First Minister, Alex Salmond
opened the new BBC Alba studio in Portree in August 2008 where he recorded a message for the launch of BBC Alba.
.
The BBC currently spends £3.2 million on radio content and £2.1 million for TV and online. The BBC contributes an additional £2.5 million to the station. (BBC figures exclude distribution costs.) MG Alba will apply the majority of its budget (£12.4 million in 2008/09) to the Gaelic Digital Service.
, the Basque channel EITB or the Welsh channel S4C
. In Europe, these channels' main mission is not commercial, but the promotion of the minority language.
, 5 Live
and 6 Music
to continue to broadcast on a 24 hour basis. The three stations were chosen because they have the highest evening audience ratings on digital television of the seven BBC radio stations unavailable on FM radio.
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
channel which is broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
throughout the United Kingdom on satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
, online and Virgin Media on Demand. It is also available live on Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
and Freeview in Scotland. The channel was launched at 21:00 on Friday 19 September 2008. The name Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
is the Gaelic word for Scotland and reveals the channel's other owner, MG Alba.
The station is unique in that it is the first channel to be delivered under a BBC licence by a partnership and is also the first multi-genre channel to come entirely from Scotland with almost all of its programmes made in Scotland.
On-air for up to seven hours a day, BBC Alba broadcasts throughout the UK on satellite (Sky and Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
). BBC Alba was added to Virgin Media's cable television service on 18 May 2011 but is only available in Scotland, with select content made available through their on-demand service across the UK. Some programmes from the last seven days can be viewed online on BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
and the channel can also be watched live through iPlayer. After being approved by the BBC Trust, it has been broadcast on Freeview, in Scotland only, since 8 June 2011, making it available to all post-switchover households in Scotland. The channel is funded and operated jointly by MG Alba and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Whilst the partnership runs the channel, Gaelic programming on BBC Two Scotland will continue at least until digital switchover takes place. The Gaelic Digital Service will also include BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a British radio station, broadcasting in Scottish Gaelic. It is operated by the BBC as part of its portfolio of television and radio services broadcasting to Scotland....
during downtime hours (alongside simulcasts of BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...
& BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
) and online content.
A study carried out for the channel indicated that 650,000 people watched BBC Alba per week in the first two months of broadcasting, in spite of only being available to around a third of Scots.
BBC Alba now has an average viewership of 530,000 adults over the age of 16 in Scotland each week. Over 443,000 adults over 16 watch BBC Alba for more than 15 minutes each week. BBC Alba gets over 29,000 iPlayer hits every week as well - over 1.5 million per year.
History
In 2007, the BBC TrustBBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
opened a consultation for a Gaelic digital service in partnership will the Gaelic Media Service (now MG Alba). Following the BBC Trust consultation in November 2007, the Audience Council Scotland
Audience Council Scotland
The Audience Council Scotland was created upon establishment of the BBC Trust in January 2007. It replaced the Broadcasting Council for Scotland which had many responsibilities the present Council now has....
recommended their support for the creation of the service on 7 December 2007, stating that the Trust should peruse carriage of the service on digital terrestrial television and that existing 'gaelic zone' programming on BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
should remain after the launch. On 28 January 2008, the BBC Trust gave the go-ahead for a Gaelic channel.
Launch night
The channel began broadcasting at 21:00 on 19 September 2008 with a launch video featuring a new rendition of the RunrigRunrig
Runrig are a Scottish Celtic rock group formed in Skye, in 1973 under the name 'The Run Rig Dance Band'. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The current line-up also includes longtime members Malcolm Jones, Iain Bayne, and more...
song, Alba. The first part of a live celidh from Skye presented by Mary Ann Kennedy was followed by a specially produced comedy drama entitled Eilbheas (Elvis), starring Greg Hemphill
Greg Hemphill
Gregory "Greg" Hemphill is a Scottish actor and comedian. He has also presented on television and radio. Along with his comedy partner, Ford Kiernan, he is best known in the United Kingdom for his appearances in Still Game and Chewin' the Fat.-Personal life:Hemphill was born in Glasgow, Scotland,...
as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, at 21:30. The channel's first independent commission, Peter Manuel – Deireadh an Uilc? (Peter Manuel - The End of Evil?), a drama documentary produced by STV Productions, was shown at 22:30 before the opening night closed with the second half of the live celidh from Skye. The launch night was simulcast on BBC Two Scotland between 21:00 and 22:30. There was also a launch event held at the National Museum of Scotland, which was recorded by the channel's news service An Là.
Carriage
On-air for up to seven hours a day, BBC Alba broadcasts throughout the UK on satellite (Sky 168 and FreesatFreesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
110) and it was hoped to be on Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
from launch. BBC Alba was made available on Virgin Media, in Scotland only, on 18 May 2011. During March 2009, BBC Alba programming was made available across the UK to Virgin Media customers on demand through BBC iPlayer and Catch Up On Demand. Some of the channel's content is also available on the BBC iPlayer website, alongside several third-party internet TV companies.
After being subject to a review by the BBC Trust and a recommendation from the Audience Council Scotland
Audience Council Scotland
The Audience Council Scotland was created upon establishment of the BBC Trust in January 2007. It replaced the Broadcasting Council for Scotland which had many responsibilities the present Council now has....
in 2009, a plan was announced to broadcast the channel on Freeview, in Scotland only, from the digital switchover (2010) under the proviso that reach of the service extended beyond the core Gaelic audience to 250,000. This was approved on 27 December 2010 by the BBC Trust and the service launched on Freeview channel 8 on 8 June 2011.
Content
BBC Alba combines televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and on-line programme content, and is anticipated to have a positive impact at many levels including increasing artistic and technical skills, extending economic opportunities, stimulating parents' interest in Gaelic medium education
Gaelic medium education
Gaelic medium education is a form of education in Scotland that allows pupils to be taught primarily through the medium of Scottish Gaelic, with English being taught as the secondary language. Education projects in other Gaelic countries; Ireland Gaelic medium education (G.M.E. or GME; Scottish...
, appealing to and serving the adult learners and strengthening Gaelic usage in extremely important media. It holds significant potential to assist with the development of positive attitudes to the acquisition and transmission of Gaelic. BBC Alba broadcasts more Scottish sport than any other channel, with over 3 hours a week of football, rugby and shinty. In addition, the station also broadcasts a live news programme for 30 minutes every weekday.
Programming
MG Alba and the BBC have announced that around ninety minutes of television content daily will be new material. Output on the station consists of news, current affairs, sport, drama, documentary, entertainment, education, religion and children's programming, broadcast on most days between 5pm and 12am. Sport programmes began on Saturday 20 September 2008 and news services on Monday 22 September 2008.Children's programmes are shown for two hours every weekday, between 17:00 and 19:00. Current affairs series Eòrpa
Eòrpa
is long-running current affairs programme broadcast on BBC Two Scotland and BBC Alba. The series has been running since 1993, and has covered political and social issues affecting Europe and Europeans over that time including issues affecting the Western Isles. It is broadcast weekly in Scottish...
and children's magazine show Dè a-nis?
Dè a-nis?
Dè a-nis? is a Scottish Gaelic-language children's program, , which is produced by BBC Gàidhlig. Broadcast on BBC Alba on Wednesday nights at 6pm and then on BBC Two Scotland Thursday nights at 6pm...
are broadcast on Thursday nights on BBC Alba and also continue to be shown on BBC Two Scotland at their usual timeslots on Thursdays.
A nightly half-hour news programme, An Là
An Là
An Là is a Scottish Gaelic-language news programme broadcast on the Scottish Gaelic language channel, BBC Alba. The programme, based at BBC Alba's newsroom in Inverness, began at 8pm on Monday 22 September 2008 and provides a 30-minute bulletin of Scottish, British and international news for...
, is aired on weeknights at 20:00 with newsreaders Angela Maclean and Iain Maclean. Radio Personality of the Year, Derek 'Pluto' Murray, is their resident sports reporter. Spòrs
Spòrs
BBC Alba has the rights to various sporting events, which it covers in the medium of Scottish Gaelic and under the umbrella of its Spòrs sports television programme....
on Saturday nights features weekly coverage of a selected SPL match. Rugby Beo broadcasts one live Magners League rugby union game a week, involving one of the competition's Scottish teams. A Gaelic-learning programme, Speaking our Language
Speaking our Language
Speaking our Language was a Scottish Gaelic learners television programme that ran from 1993 to 1996. Running for 72 episodes through four series, the series was produced by Scottish Television and presented by Rhoda MacDonald, STV's then-head of Gaelic output...
is re-broadcast on weeknights at 7:30pm. Former Eòrpa reporter, Derek Mackay hosts a weekly chat show, Cnag na Cùise, on Sunday nights. So far 2 series of current affairs documentary ‘Trusadh
Trusadh
Trusadh is a Scottish Gaelic television news magazine programme that has been running since 2008 and that is currently shown on BBC Alba television. The contents of the programme range from sex reassignment surgery, to wolfdog ownership in the Highlands of Scotland.-External links:**...
’ has been commissioned as of 2010, which is sometimes presented by Donald MacSween.
Subtitling
Most of the adult programming on BBC Alba contains on-screen EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
subtitles. For logistical reasons, live broadcasts (including the news) are not subtitled, although certain events (e.g. the annual Hogmanay
Hogmanay
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner...
broadcast Bliadhna Mhath Ùr) have scripted elements that are subtitled, while interviews and ad-libbed lines are not.
Children's programmes are not subtitled.
Sport
BBC Alba concentrates on three sports: football, rugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and shinty
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
.
The station broadcasts one full SPL
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
game every Saturday night - an arrangement due to continue until the end of the 2009-10 season. The game shown is a selected one not covered by either live Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
or on an on-demand basis by BT Vision
BT Vision
BT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...
and shown three hours after the end of the match. The match only includes Gaelic commentary along with English subtitles.
The channel reached an agreement with the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
to broadcast live football games during the 2008–09 season. This began with the final of the Challenge Cup, which was also sponsored by MG Alba. BBC Alba then started broadcasting First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
games, beginning with the match between and on 22 February 2009.
BBC Alba recently struck a deal with the Scottish rugby authorities to show one live rugby, Scottish Premiership Division One match every weekend.
In 2010 BBC Alba bought the rights for Celtic League rugby
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
jointly with public service broadcasters from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Studios
Stornoway
Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and Portree
Portree
Portree is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the location for the only secondary school on the Island, Portree High school. Public transport services are limited to buses....
. Continuity and channel management is based in Stornoway while the news services are based in Inverness. A short pre-recorded information program called Dè Tha Dol is sent from Stornoway and is played out at 7:55pm daily. BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
's headquarters at Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay
Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened in 1900. It ceased to be used in the 1970s as the volume of Shipping using the...
in Glasgow is used to transmit the programmes. The First Minister, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
opened the new BBC Alba studio in Portree in August 2008 where he recorded a message for the launch of BBC Alba.
Independent Production Companies
A number of independent companies have been commissioned to produce content for the channel, or have productions currently airing. These include:- Theatre Hebrides (Lostbost)
- Madmac Productions (Broadford or Bust)
- Caledonia Stern and Wylde (Tìr is Teanga)
- MnE Media formerly known as Meadhan nan Eilean (Seasaidh Lexy, Cuide ri CathyCuide ri CathyCuide ri Cathy is a television interview series created by for BBC Alba, presented by Cathy MacDonald, where she spends a day in the life of a Scottish celebrity.-Series 1:* Gail Porter - Television presenter....
) - Tern TV (Slighe gu Biadh)
- Eyeline Media (Air an Rathad, Làrach anns an Fhàsach)
- MacTV (Ealtainn)
- Studio Alba (A' Gharaids)
Funding
BBC Alba is funded by MG Alba, which is financed by the Scottish Government, and BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
.
The BBC currently spends £3.2 million on radio content and £2.1 million for TV and online. The BBC contributes an additional £2.5 million to the station. (BBC figures exclude distribution costs.) MG Alba will apply the majority of its budget (£12.4 million in 2008/09) to the Gaelic Digital Service.
Sports programming
Critics have argued that the small number of viewers does not justify the £15m of licence payers’ money spent on the digital television channel each year. Since its launch in September 2008, the BBC Alba channel has lost a third of its viewers, but its number of viewers remains five times larger than the size of the Gaelic speech community in Scotland (just over 58,000). The historian Michael Fry has argued that many of its viewers only watch it for the football coverage, because "you don’t need Gaelic to watch football", and that in this way the channel is "cheating". The model is, however, both common and intentional as it is on comparable channels such as the Irish gaelic channel TG4TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
, the Basque channel EITB or the Welsh channel S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. In Europe, these channels' main mission is not commercial, but the promotion of the minority language.
Freeview
Some criticism had been levied over the channel's addition to Freeview, primarily due to the BBC's original plan (with acceptance from the BBC Executive) to remove all 13 BBC Radio channels from Freeview for Scottish viewers over the period that BBC Alba will be shown on Freeview (between 5pm and midnight); however the criticism has not been directed at the BBC's decision to extend BBC Alba to Freeview in principle. On 19 May 2011, it was reported that the BBC has backed down on the plans, after the BBC had "managed to reengineer facilities" to allow BBC Radio 1XtraBBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
, 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
and 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
to continue to broadcast on a 24 hour basis. The three stations were chosen because they have the highest evening audience ratings on digital television of the seven BBC radio stations unavailable on FM radio.
See also
- BBC Radio nan GàidhealBBC Radio nan GàidhealBBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a British radio station, broadcasting in Scottish Gaelic. It is operated by the BBC as part of its portfolio of television and radio services broadcasting to Scotland....
- MG Alba
- Bòrd na GàidhligBòrd na GàidhligBòrd na Gàidhlig is a quango appointed by the Scottish Government with responsibility for Scottish Gaelic...
- Audience Council ScotlandAudience Council ScotlandThe Audience Council Scotland was created upon establishment of the BBC Trust in January 2007. It replaced the Broadcasting Council for Scotland which had many responsibilities the present Council now has....
- List of Celtic language media
- TeleG - Former Gaelic Language channel, previously available only on Freeview
- S4CS4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
- Welsh language TV station - TG4TG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
- Irish language TV station - Maori TelevisionMaori TelevisionMāori Television is a New Zealand TV station broadcasting programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture . Funded by the New Zealand Government, the station started broadcasting on 28 March 2004 from a base in Newmarket.Te Reo is the...
- NRK Sámi RadioNRK Sámi RadioNRK Sápmi is a Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation unit that produces radio, television, and Internet news and other programs for the Sámi people. The first radio news program in Sami language started in 1946 in Tromsø with Katrine Johnsen as the host...
- TV BreizhTV BreizhTV Breizh is a private French regional station for the Brittany region.-History:The channel was launched on September 1, 2000 by TF1 and Patrick Le Lay for the purposes of broadcasting regional programming and reruns of TF1 programmes.TV Breizh tried to obtain an analogue broadcast licence for its...