Trust Approves BBC ALBA Carriage On Freeview

22nd December 2010

The Gaelic-language service BBC ALBA will be available to viewers in Scotland on Freeview, following approval by the BBC Trust on Tuesday 21st December 2010, as part of a review of the service.

The review looked at how well the channel is serving Gaelic speakers, how well it is attracting new and non-speakers, and how it should be made available to audiences in the future. Continuation of the BBC ALBA service was dependent on a successful review by the Trust. The review included a public consultation which drew over 5,000 responses.

Overall the Trust has concluded that BBC ALBA is performing well and achieving its aims. Specific conclusions include:

BBC ALBA is serving Gaelic speakers well, and is also attracting over four non-Gaelic speakers for every Gaelic speaking viewer.
The service, run jointly by the BBC and MG ALBA, is making strong progress towards attracting new speakers to the Gaelic language, with strong links with educational partners.

The partnership between the BBC and MG ALBA is operating well, and engaging well with the independent production sector - in 2008/9 74% of the content budget was spent on suppliers outside the BBC.

BBC ALBA should be carried on Freeview. The Trust has approved the BBC Executive's proposal to remove the BBC's thirteen radio stations from Freeview, in Scotland only, during the hours BBC ALBA is broadcasting, as the most technically and financially viable way of enabling BBC ALBA to be carried on Freeview.

On Freeview carriage, the BBC Executive explored and ruled out a range of possibilities for making BBC ALBA more widely available. For example, buying spectrum was ruled out due to the prohibitive cost. The removal of a red button stream or BBC Parliament from Freeview was also ruled out due to the likely loss of significant public value. Distributing BBC ALBA on broadband as an alternative to Freeview was ruled out due to relatively low broadband take-up and slow broadband speeds in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands and Islands.

BBC Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said:"The question of how to make BBC ALBA more widely available to licence fee payers in Scotland is a good example of the wider issue of distribution choices which we have been grappling with as part of our recent Strategy Review - how the BBC should best reach audiences as platforms increase. Through the Strategy Review we've committed the BBC to doing more to ensure that its services can be conveniently accessed by all audiences, and doing more to represent the nations. Enabling BBC ALBA to be carried on Freeview is a key part of that commitment."

National Trustee for Scotland Jeremy Peat said:"It's very encouraging to see that BBC ALBA is performing well and is appreciated by Gaelic speakers and learners. Carrying ALBA on Freeview will bring the service to a much wider audience across Scotland - it's been clear from our review that there are strong views about the future of the service and this has not been a straightforward decision, but we believe that it's the option that really offers the most benefit for licence fee payers in Scotland."

The Trust also highlighted in its conclusions the importance of ensuring that programme quality on BBC ALBA continues to be kept high, as the amount of original programme stock, available from MG ALBA at launch, is declining over time as it is broadcast. The Trust has asked the Executive to consider whether its existing budget is sufficient for BBC ALBA to continue to meet its objectives, and has highlighted that it expects to see viewing levels and awareness of the service increase over time, with further progress towards the channel's target of 250,000 viewers.

The Trust also expects the Executive to continue to explore whether the development of technologies which use spectrum more efficiently might enable some radio services on DTT in Scotland to be maintained alongside BBC ALBA in the future, subject to the normal value for money and public value considerations.

MG ALBA WELCOMES DECISION BY BBC TRUST TO ESTABLISH BBC ALBA ON FREEVIEW

The BBC/MG ALBA partnership which operates the BBC ALBA channel welcomed the decision by the BBC Trust to establish the channel on Freeview.

Speaking on behalf of MG ALBA, Alasdair Morrison, chairman, said: ???We are absolutely delighted by the decision and most importantly it will provide the opportunity for people across Scotland to have access to the channel that they have been unable to enjoy to date.

"Over the last two years BBC ALBA has done everything that was asked of it and we have created a raft of home-grown programmes appealing to both Gaelic and non-Gaelic speakers which has made a very positive contribution to Scottish broadcasting and the country's creative industries. The viewers like what they see and viewing figures have remained steady around 220,000 per week which compares very favourably with other digital channels in Scotland.

"Until now, less than 50 per cent of households in Scotland had access to the channel. Now that barrier has been removed it means households across Scotland will be in a position to take advantage of the variety of programmes that viewers in Scotland have found attractive."

We would like to bring absolute clarity to the issue of the effect on radio services in view of BBC ALBA being made available on Freeview. First and foremost Freeview is a television platform on airwaves set aside for digital television services. Radio stations were first carried on Freeview when demand for television programming on the service was much lower. That is no longer the case. Freeview is now the UK's main television platform. There are separate arrangements for digital radio and the development of that service is where the long term solution to radio lies.

"Secondly the BBC Executive estimates that the effect of removing some radio stations from Freeview will only affect in the region of 4,000 people who would have no radio-based access to the radio services and of which 2,500 can get access to digital radio via the internet."

"Thirdly the vast majority of the 51,000 who listen to radio on Freeview in fact are listening to FM/AM stations. These and all other stations will continue to be available on FM/AM and DAB radio frequencies where the overwhelming majority of people listen to radio. The radio stations are also available online and through Freesat and Sky TV and cable."

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the political parties across Scotland for their overwhelming support for the channel throughout our Freeview campaign as well as the many organisations and individuals who have supported us. In addition thanks also go to the BBC Management for their encouragement, as well as Jeremy Peat Trustee for Scotland at the BBC Trust. We look forward to bringing our service to a wider audience throughout the country."

About MG ALBA

MG ALBA is the operating name of Seirbheis nam Meadhanan G'idhlig (Gaelic Media Service). MG ALBA works in partnership with the BBC to deliver BBC ALBA. Find out more about MG ALBA and the partnership at www.mgalba.com.

BBC ALBA is currently available on Digital Satellite, on Sky 168, Freesat 110 and live on BBC iPlayer. 10 hours of content per week is also available to view on demand via the BBC PC iPlayer and the BBC iPlayer on Cable. For further information see www.bbcalba.co.uk