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Memorandum from MG ALBA
1. About MG ALBA
MG ALBA (the operating name of
Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig or Gaelic Media Service) has formed a
partnership with the BBC to
broadcast BBC ALBA, the Gaelic
digital television channel, which was launched in September 2008. BBC ALBA is the first partnership channel to operate
under a BBC licence.
MG ALBA was originally
established (as the Gaelic Television Committee) under the Broadcasting Act 1990, and its current remit under
the Communications Act 2003 is to secure that a wide and diverse range of high
quality programmes in Gaelic is made available to persons in Scotland. MG ALBA
is funded by the Scottish Government and regulated by Ofcom.
2. Responding to the Committee's inquiry
MG ALBA welcomes the opportunity
to comment on the Committee's inquiry on the future for local and regional
media. Our response will concentrate on three of the subjects
on which the committee has called for views:
· the impact on local media of
recent and future developments in digital convergence, media technology and
changing consumer behaviour
· the future of local radio
and television news
· incentives for investment in
local content
3. Developments
in digital media technology and consumer behaviour
BBC ALBA is
currently available on digital satellite (Sky 168 and Freesat 110). In addition
to the television channel, there is also a Gaelic radio station (Radio nan
Gaidheal) and online services including www.bbcalba.co.uk and "watch again"
opportunities on the BBC iPlayer.
Carriage of BBC ALBA on cable is
currently being negotiated with Virgin Media, and carriage on digital
terrestrial television (DTT, also known as Freeview) is expected to become
possible at switchover, subject to review of the service by the BBC Trust.
Audience
research indicates that 72% of Gaelic-speaking viewers who currently have
access to the channel are tuning in at least once a week. The partnership is
committed to securing carriage for BBC
ALBA on all existing and emerging digital platforms, so that all Scottish viewers
can receive BBC ALBA after
switchover, whatever digital system they have invested in.
4. The future
of local radio and television news
News and
current affairs are consistently reported as the most highly valued genres in
research conducted among Gaelic-speaking viewers of BBC
ALBA. Broadcast news on both television and radio provides an important service
to a language community that is not well served by print media, as there are no
Gaelic newspapers and few English-language newspapers have a regular Gaelic
column.
The BBC's team of Gaelic journalists contributes to news
content across three media - television, radio and online - providing local
(Highlands and Islands), regional (Scottish), national (UK), and
international news. BBC ALBA
broadcasts a half-hour nightly news programme, An Là, and a weekly news round-up, Seachd Là, as well as award-winning current affairs magazine
programme Eòrpa. Radio nan Gaidheal
carries regular news bulletins throughout the day and in-depth morning and
drive-time news programmes, and Gaelic news articles are available on the BBC news website. The Gaelic news service draws on
the wider BBC news gathering
operation, and stories and footage gathered for Gaelic news programmes are also
made available to other BBC news
services. The BBC ALBA news teams
are based in Inverness and Glasgow, and a number
of video journalists work from other locations in the Highlands and Islands.
5. Incentives
for investment in local content
MG ALBA
receives a Treasury Grant (the Gaelic Broadcasting
Fund) from the Scottish Government. In 2008-09 the Fund was £12.4 million. The
entirety of MG ALBA's content budget is spent in Scotland, and around two-thirds of
this is allocated to independent production companies. The existence of the
Gaelic Broadcasting Fund since 1990
has enabled the creation and development of the independent production sector
for Gaelic content, and the launch of BBC
ALBA has led to a considerable increase in the number of hours of content
commissioned from these companies.
New commissioning
deals based on four-year agreements with production companies for regular
delivery of content in certain programme genres is allowing the sector to plan
for the medium and long term, to hire and train staff, and to develop more
sustainable business models. The benefits of Gaelic content production, for the
economy, for the Gaelic community and for the production sector's skills base,
is of particular importance in economically fragile areas such as the Western
Isles, and MG ALBA welcomes opportunities to explore with enterprise agencies,
with government and with other partners in the private and public sectors new
ways to make best use of available funding sources, to attract new investment
and to create effective partnerships.
May
2009
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