The BBC has unveiled a new channel set to go live in fall 2018, BBC Scotland, which will feature its own integrated hour-long news program.
BBC Scotland will broadcast from 7 p.m. every evening. It will provide a mix of content meant to “inform, educate and entertain,” including a dedicated news program that will be edited and presented from Scotland. The BBC is planning to invest £19 million ($23.7 million) in the channel and in digital developments.
Additionally, the BBC is putting another £1.2 million ($1.5 million) into BBC Alba in Scotland, bringing the total new commitment to services for the country to £20 million ($25 million). Further investments are being made in Scottish programming across the BBC’s network TV output, with a particular focus on the commissioning of drama and factual programs.
Tony Hall, BBC’s director-general, said: “I said at the beginning of the year that the BBC needed to be more creative and distinctive. The BBC is Britain’s broadcaster but we also need to do more for each nation just as we are doing more for Britain globally.
“We know that viewers in Scotland love BBC television, but we also know that they want us to better reflect their lives and better reflect modern Scotland. It is vital that we get this right. The best way of achieving that is a dedicated channel for Scotland. It’s a channel that will be bold, creative and ambitious, with a brand-new Scotland-edited international news program at its heart. The BBC has the luxury of having first-class creative teams and brilliant journalists, who I know will make this new channel a huge success.
“The additional investment in Scottish drama and factual programming rightly recognizes both the need to do more across our output and the huge pool of talent available in Scotland. We do make great programs here, such as Shetland, Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney, Two Doors Down and the brilliant Still Game—but we do need to do more.
“All of this combined amounts to the biggest single investment by the BBC in broadcast content in Scotland in over 20 years. This will be a huge boost for BBC Scotland and for the Scottish creative industries. This is an exciting time for BBC Scotland and for the millions of Scots who love TV.”
