.svg) | |
.svg) BBC Scotland's area within the UK | |
| TV stations | BBC One Scotland BBC Scotland BBC Alba |
|---|---|
| Radio stations | BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, BBC Radio Shetland, BBC Radio Orkney |
| Headquarters | BBC Pacific Quay,Glasgow, Scotland |
| Area | Scotland |
| Parent | BBC |
Key people | Hayley Valentine (Director, BBC Scotland) |
Launch date | 1 January 1923 (1923-01-01) |
Official website | www |
| Language | English,Scots andScottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) |
BBC Scotland is a division of theBBC and the mainpublic broadcaster inScotland. Itsheadquarters are inGlasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year.[1] BBC Scotland operates multiple television stations, like theScottish variant ofBBC One, theBBC Scotland channel and the Gaelic-language channelBBC Alba. It also runs radio stationsBBC Radio Scotland and Gaelic-language stationBBC Radio nan Gàidheal fromStornoway.
It is one of the four BBC national broadcasters, together with theBBC English Regions,BBC Cymru Wales andBBC Northern Ireland. Some £320 million oflicence fee revenue is raised in Scotland, with expenditure on purely local content set to stand at £86 million by 2016–2017.[2] The remainder of licence fee revenue raised in the country is spent on networked programmes shown throughout the UK, with BBC Scotland producing over 880 hours worth of programming for UK–wide broadcast onBBC One,BBC Two,BBC Three,CBBC andCBeebies. BBC Scotland output reached on average 94% of Scottish audiences in July 2013.[3]
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The first radio service in Scotland was launched by theBritish Broadcasting Company on 6 March 1923.[4] Named5SC and located in Bath Street in Glasgow, the services gradually expanded to include the new stations 2BD, 2DE and 2EH, based at Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh respectively.[4] Around 1927, the new Corporation, as the BBC now was, decided to combine these local stations into regions under the generic banner of theBBC Regional Programme. Regional programmes throughout the UK were merged to form theBBC Home Service in 1939, and, with a break for the Second World War, national opt outs remained on the station and its successorBBC Radio 4 until the establishment of a separateBBC Radio Scotland in November 1978.[5]
Television in Scotland began formally on 14 March 1952 using the405-line television system broadcast from theKirk o' Shotts transmitter.[4] In the beginning, all programmes came from London but some with Scottish content were made using an outside broadcast unit. By 1962, there were plans for television news interview studios in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.[6] Eventually, BBC Scotland established the right to "opt-out" of the network more and more. When BBC Two arrived in Scotland in 1966 (having begun in London two years earlier and spread across the country), broadcasts began in black and white on 405-lines from the Black Hill transmitter. BBC Two upgraded toPAL colour in 1967 (including Scotland) across the UK, with BBC One (network programmes only at first, with local output still in black-and-white) andSTV following in December 1969, and in 1971, BBC Scotland's Queen Margaret Drive Studio "A" in Glasgow became one of the first regional studios in Britain to upgrade to colour.[4]
In September 1998,BBC Choice Scotland was launched as BBC Scotland's first digital service.[7]
For many years, BBC Scotland has tried to increase the number of programmes it makes to be shown on the networks. This ambition was greatly aided by the move of BBC Scotland's headquarters in 2007 from Queen Margaret Drive toBBC Pacific Quay where state of the art digital studios were built. In March 2021, a decision was taken by the BBC to relocated jobs and departments from London to other parts of the BBC network, including BBC Scotland. As part of the restructure, the technology team for the BBC moved from London to Glasgow.[8] Productions by the BBC such asThe Weakest Link,Newsnight Review and "at least one Saturday night primetime show" would be relocated to Scotland, produced by BBC Scotland in Glasgow.[9]
The BBC's flagship political and debating programme,Question Time, had its permanent base moved to Glasgow in 2009.[10] The relocation ofQuestion Time to Glasgow sparked some controversy, with former executive producer of the programme, George Carey, claiming the move from London to Glasgow would "editorially weaken the show and increase costs".[11]
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BBC Scotland broadcasts three television services to Scottish audiences.
BBC One Scotland is a separate channel able to opt out of the network feed of BBC One to broadcast its own schedule of regional programming in addition to networked productions. The flagship news programmeBBC Reporting Scotland is presented by Laura Miller and Laura Goodwin.[12] Additionally, BBC One Scotland broadcasts several Scottish specific broadcasting, such asSportscene,The Sunday Show[13] and investigation series BBC Disclosure.
BBC Scotland operatesBBC Alba, broadcasting programming inGaelic for up to seven hours a day. The channel is a joint partnership between BBC Scotland andMG Alba and is available across the UK on satellite and cable services andFreeview in Scotland only. During downtime, BBC Alba simulcasts Gaelic radio stationBBC Radio nan Gàidheal with an in-vision graphical overlay. Prior todigital switchover, some Gaelic programming was carried onBBC Two Scotland, however this ceased following the switchover.[14]
On 22 February 2017, director general Tony Hall announced plans to launch a dedicated English-language BBC Scotland channel in 2018, which would replace a BBC Two opt-out called BBC Two Scotland. It would broadcast from 7:00 p.m. to midnight every day and feature a lineup composed entirely of new and archived Scottish programming, including a new hour-long news programme calledThe Nine. The proposed newscast was considered a response to proposals for alocal opt-out of theBBC News at Six. Hall also announced that the BBC would increase its overall spending on factual and drama productions in Scotland by £20 million annually.[15][16]
The BBC Scotland channel was approved byOfcom in June 2018, and subsequently launched on 24 February 2019. The channel is allocated £32 million in annual funding, and its SD variant has displacedBBC Four on the Freeview EPG.[17][18] TheBBC Scotland channel commenced broadcasting at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday 24 February 2019.
Programming for the BBC Scotland channel currently includesDebate Night,The Entertainment Mix andScotland's Home of the Year. The stations flagship news programme,The Nine, was broadcast from February 2019 until December 2024, when it was replaced by a new shorter programme,Reporting Scotland: News at Seven, which airs directly following its sister programme,Reporting Scotland, which is broadcast on BBC One Scotland.[19]
BBC Scotland also operates two radio stations covering Scotland:BBC Radio Scotland andBBC Radio nan Gàidheal. The former broadcasts English programming 24 hours a day on the frequencies 92–95FM and 810MW. The station has specific programming opt outs forOrkney andShetland in addition to regional news opt outs for four additional sub regions – North East, Highlands & Islands, South West and Borders.BBC Radio nan Gàidheal in contrast is a Gaelic-language station broadcasting for the majority of the day on 103.5–105 FM and simulcasting Radio Scotland's MW service at other times.[citation needed]
BBC Scotland operates a mini site onBBC Online consisting of a portal to Scottish news, sport, programmes and items of cultural interest through BBC Online. The department also provides content from Scotland on these subjects to the website and for theBBC Red Button interactive TV service.[citation needed] BBC Scotland previously offered a podcast download of the top news items of the week[20] and the online streaming of several key sections of output. However following the widespread introduction of theBBC iPlayer service, which allowed the streaming and download of nearly all BBC programmes including news, these services were discontinued as defunct.
BBC'sThe Social is a digital content stream from BBC Scotland aimed at 18–34 year olds. Working with new and emerging talent,The Social develops daily content on a range of subjects including issues, comedy, music, lifestyle and gaming. Launched in December 2015,The Social won aRoyal Television Society Scotland Award for Best Digital Innovation in 2016 and another in 2018 for the shortform drama Kidder.[21][22] In June 2018, the BBC announced the formation of a third "digital hub" in Glasgow, which will facilitate design and engineering of BBC digital platforms.[23]
BBC Scotland began broadcasting in Scotland on 10 October 1923 from the Aberdeen studios in Belmont Street,Aberdeen. The first broadcast for the station was at risk of being impacted by severe gales which resulted in telephone wires being damaged, however, following extensive work by engineers to resolve the damage and associated issues, the broadcast went ahead as planned with minimal issues.Stonehaven did experience issues with the broadcast however, which was later accredited to issues relating to climate.[24]
When the new commercial broadcaster,Scottish Television (STV), was about to arrive in 1957, BBC Scotland managed to produce slightly improved news coverage by a complicated arrangement involving the newsroom in Queen Margaret Drive in the west of the city and the former Black Cat Cinema in Springfield Road in the east whereThe White Heather Club was made.[25]
Upon the launch of the BBC in Scotland in 1923, the service originally occupied Rex House at 202 Bath Street, Glasgow, before moving to properties in Blythswood Square and subsequently in West George Street.[4] In 1929, the decision was made to move the headquarters operation toQueen Street,Edinburgh, where the Edinburgh station had been based since 1924[4][26] following a move from the original 79 George Street premises.[4] However, in 1935 the BBC acquiredQueen Margaret College at North Park House, Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow, near to theGlasgow Botanic Gardens, and the headquarters operation moved back to Glasgow in 1936 accompanying the Glasgow radio station.[4][27] BBC Scotland remained based at these premises until the move to Pacific Quay in 2007.[27] The Edinburgh operation remained on Queen Street until the move to The Tun in April 2002.[4][26] The Tun building is near to theScottish Parliament building and contains television and radio studios in addition to a newsroom.[28]
The college closed in 1935 and principal architect James Miller began adapting the Glasgow site for BBC Scotland in 1936, allowing for the site's buildings to be used in the production, administration and broadcasting of BBC Scotland's radio and television.(RCAHMS)
In the early 1960s, the BBC acquired land adjacent to its Queen Margaret Drive base and eventually three colour studios were built together with significant radio facilities and a Film Unit with its own film processing. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra had access to a large sound studio – Studio 1, from 1937 until 2006 when it moved from Studio 1 to the newly-rebuilt City Halls inMerchant City area of Glasgow.[29]
BBC Scotland's headquarters are currently located atBBC Pacific Quay on the banks of theRiver Clyde inGlasgow.[4][30] The BBC had outgrown their old headquarters in Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow.[31] The need to move to a new location was also in part due to changing technology, with the network having a "desire to move with the times beyond a less than fit for purpose HQ to a new building which would avail us of the latest digital technology to offer improved quality to audiences".[32]
In July 1999 the BBC announced that around 800 staff would be moving to a new building that would be located at Pacific Quay.[33] The BBC held a competition to design a new building with more than seventy companies attracted. By March 2001 there was a shortlist of seven entries.[34]
The studio centre was constructed between July 2004 and August 2006 and was opened in September 2007 by then-Prime MinisterGordon Brown.[35] Designed byDavid Chipperfield[30] and reportedly costing £188 million,[35][36] the studio contains three television studios and five radio studios as well as the firstHD newsroom used by the BBC.[37]
In addition to the Glasgow and Edinburgh bases of the broadcaster, BBC Scotland also has offices and studios located inAberdeen,Dundee,Portree,Stornoway,Inverness,Selkirk,Dumfries,Kirkwall andLerwick. Of these, the latter two locations operate radio opt-outs from BBC Radio Scotland withBBC Radio Orkney andBBC Radio Shetland while the Aberdeen, Inverness, Selkirk and Dumfries newsrooms produce local radio bulletins for the North East, Highlands & Islands, Borders and South West respectively.[38]
In addition to these premises, BBC Scotland operates a drama productions studio atDumbarton on the site of a disused whisky distillery. It is the main Scottish drama facilities where programmes such asStill Game andRiver City are recorded.[39][40] Also, theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is resident atGlasgow City Halls[41] having been based at Queen Margaret Drive until 2006.[42]
BBC Scotland continues to produce a high number of local programmes for the Scottish audiences. Its flagship news and current affair programmes areReporting Scotland andScotland 2016 which provides over an hour of content each weekday. Drama in the form ofRiver City. With sport on Radio Scotland, along withSportscene, cover a large number of local sports including football, rugby and bowls. BBC Scotland also produces over 20 hours of comedy programmers for radio and television, while features and documentaries is BBC Scotland's biggest output, withThe Beechgrove Garden,Landward,Sport Monthly,The Adventure Show,The Mountain,BBC Scotland Investigates and many other covering all aspect of Scottish life. BBC Scotland output was watched by 40.3% of the Scottish television audience in 2013.[43]
Output for the British network has included such recent high-profile dramas asShetland,Hope Springs,Waterloo Road andSingle Father.[44] BBC Scotland also produces a high number of gamesshows which featureThe National Lottery Draws. BBC Scotland also produces the Scottish opt-out sections of British-wide programmes such asSunday Politics andChildren in Need.[45][46]
Until 2010, a high number of Gaelic programmes were broadcast on BBC One and Two Scotland before transferring over to BBC Alba. Its flagship programmes, which both started in 1993, areDè a-nis? andEòrpa.Eòrpa hit the headlines in May 2008, specially mentioned in the Scottish Broadcasting Commission's report. "It was intriguing to note that without fail at every one of our public events, BBC2 Scotland'sEòrpa programme was raised, unsolicited, and by non-Gaelic speakers, as an example of a positive, well-respected programme", commentedBlair Jenkins, the Chair of theScottish Broadcasting Commission.[47] It continued to be given a broadcast on BBC Two Scotland as the only Gaelic programme on the channel until 2019 when it moved toBBC Alba.[48][49]
Over the years, BBC Scotland made a number of well known radio and television programmes both for the BBC networks and for transmission in Scotland only. In television these were known within the BBC as "opt out" programmes, with BBC Scotland given the responsibility for producing Scotland related programming to reflectScottish culture and life.[50]
At teatime in the beginning, there wasA Quick Look Round with Leonard Maguire. From 1968, as well as the flagship evening news programmeReporting Scotland, presented byMary Marquis and Douglas Kynoch, with contributions fromRenton Laidlaw in Edinburgh and Donny B. MacLeod in Aberdeen, there were popular current affairs series such asCompass,Checkpoint with Professor Esmond Wright andMagnus Magnusson,Person to Person with Mary Marquis,Current Account,Public Account andAgenda.[51]
Many comedy series have been made by BBC Scotland, includingScotch and Wry,Rab C. Nesbitt,Naked Video andStill Game, while with dramas includedHamish Macbeth,Monarch of the Glen, andSutherland's Law. In recent years, BBC Scotland comedy shows such asMrs. Brown's Boys,[52][53]Two Doors Down[54][55] andMountain Goats.[56][57][58][59][60]
BBC Scotland has also produced two highly controversial programmes,Scotch on the Rocks[61] andSecret Society,[62] with the latter resulting in BBC Scotland being raided by the police.[63]
Directors and Controllers of BBC Scotland:
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