BBC Alba is coming to Freeview in Scotland
CoolboyA
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BBC Alba to be shown on Freeview
Finally, the BBC Trust have made their mind up as to whether BBC Alba will be on Freeview in Scotland. It has taken them over 2 years to decide, but today we've heard that it is coming [at the expense of 13 Radio Stations during broadcasting hours].
There is no news just yet as to when BBC Alba will appear on Freeview, but I'm guessing it will be soon.
BBC Trust Review
Finally, the BBC Trust have made their mind up as to whether BBC Alba will be on Freeview in Scotland. It has taken them over 2 years to decide, but today we've heard that it is coming [at the expense of 13 Radio Stations during broadcasting hours].
The BBC Trust said the service run by the BBC and MG Alba was performing well and meeting its aims.
It has served Gaelic speakers well and was attracting more than four non-Gaelic speakers for every viewer who uses the language, according to the review.
There is no news just yet as to when BBC Alba will appear on Freeview, but I'm guessing it will be soon.
BBC Trust Review
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Comments
I am always suspicious of figures like that, I am sure there is a tendency for people to claim they speak Gaelic or watch BBC Alba just for political reasons and to inflate figures.
I don't use the radio services on Freeview much but they are handy for recording the odd programme on the PVR when I know that I will not be around.
Is it at the cost of another service in the same way 2 out of 3 BBC interactive streams were lost for BBC HD?
Your answer enabled me to find this:
BBC News
I don't think it has to wait for completion of DSO in Scotland. I don't think they are removing any services apart than the radio networks so it just means that some areas of the Central Scotland will have to wait until next year but most of the areas with Gaelic speakers are already served by Freeview (Islay being the exception).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/pvt/bbc_alba.shtml
I've got to laugh at the amount of people who have written, "It is for Gaelic speakers only; I don't speak Gaelic". Why, then, are you watching a Gaelic channel!?
I also have noticed the people who tend to be saying, "It's a waste of money" are mainly males in the 55+ age group. Sounds about right...
As a non-Gaelic speaking Scot I'd rather have the BBC Radio Stations remain on Freeview all day.
Bad move.
This will come as welcome news to the tens of thousands of Scots Gaelic speakers in both rural and urban Scotland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ScotlandGaelicSpeakers2001.gif. This move also has the backing of the Scottish government too.
Although BBC Alba currently comes at the expense of some BBC radio stations during broadcast hours, once digital switchover is complete in Scotland (STV Central is still in the process, l understand), then there might be the opportunity to review things further.
I should add that the villain of the piece here is most certainly not the BBC; it is bastard Ofcom for pushing for more pay-TV channels on Freeview/DTT (gone up from 2 to 4 this year) which limits the number of channels that can be used for free to air television. Complain to the Ofcom scum over this and not the BBC because this is all of their making.
In any event, this will bring Gaelic language programming to a wider audience and l'd be willing to bet that BBC Alba would beat the 250,000 viewer target.
Not true for their ML rugby coverage - if it involves Ulster BBC NI will show it live also, if Leinster/Munster then RTE or TG4 and if a Welsh team BBC2W or S4C.
It's not that big a loss - people still have FM, AM, Digital Radio, Sky, Freesat, Virgin and the Internet.
Exactly. The radio services on Freeview are a useful bonus, but listening figures in the evening are low anyway.
I don't speak Gaelic, but welcome the addition of a new TV service. If I want to listen to radio everything is on DAB.
It's an interesting problem, because if they were to then stat-mux it with the rest then that goes against the BBC's platform neutrality surely, with the other BBC services being at a lesser quality than their counterparts on satellite and cable as well as on digital terrestrial in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It could be put on Mux.2 like S4C in Wales I guess but that would mean either STV/ITV Border or Channel 4 giving up a slot, which I can imagine wouldn't go down well with the anti-Gaelic brigade.
In all cases like this the solution was MPEG4, but other than with the DVB-T2 HD services, this ship has set sail...
Freeview is just the name similar to Sky - should Sky only have Sky branded channels on it?
Who said anything about Sky
Just pointing out that you inferred radio channels shouldn't be on Freeview (your word in Post 19). Why not? Because of the name. If so should Sky Digital only have Sky channels? Can you not see the logic?
Perhaps they should put TV Channels on DAB next hey :rolleyes:
Now that would be something! On a serious note I do listen to radio channels on DTT and since the DAB signal here is iffy at best of times I tend to use Freeview to listen to these channels rather than DAB radio.
Of course not, but it can only happen as DSO is rolled out transmitter group by transmitter group. Before DSO BBC local radio is on Mux 1 and BBC national radio is on Mux B so they cannot be replaced by BBC Alba. After DSO, all the BBC radios are on BBC A and this is where they can all be replaced.
So Darvel, Craigkelly and Black Hill which are due to complete Scotland's DSO in May & June 2011 will have to wait until then for BBC Alba. The rest of Scotland can get BBC Alba as soon as the BBC can get the technical changes made.
I expect Tele-G will cease shortly after the Black Hill DSO but it requires a change to the Broadcasting Act 1996 IIRC.
a pointless and waste of limited spectrum space as these radio stations are already available on FM and MW
its high time BBC ALBA was available on DTT