BBC Alba (TV channel)
| BBC Alba | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 19 September 2008 |
| Owned by | BBC and MG Alba |
| Picture format | 16:9 (SDTV) |
| Slogan | A new channel for Scotland/Sianal Ùr Gàidhlig |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | Scottish Gaelic |
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Pacific Quay (Glasgow) and Stornoway |
| Website | www |
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Availability
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| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 7 (Scotland only) |
| Satellite | |
| Freesat | Channel 109 |
| Sky | Channel 142 |
| Astra 2E | 10803 H 22000 5/6 |
| Cable | |
| Virgin Media | Channel 161 |
| Streaming media | |
| BBC iPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
| TVPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic language digital television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. The station is unique in that it is the first channel to be delivered under a BBC licence by a partnership and is also the first multi-genre channel to come entirely from Scotland with almost all of its programmes made in Scotland.
The channel is available in Scotland via Freeview, and throughout the UK on Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media, BBC iPlayer, and TVPlayer. BBC Alba has an average viewership of 637,000 adults over the age of 16 in Scotland each week. BBC Alba got 4.1 million views on BBC iPlayer between 2012–2013.
In 2007, the BBC Trust opened a consultation for a Gaelic digital service in partnership will the Gaelic Media Service. Following the BBC Trust consultation in November 2007, the Audience Council Scotland recommended their support for the creation of the service on 7 December 2007, stating that the Trust should pursue carriage of the service on digital terrestrial television and that existing "gaelic zone" programming on BBC Scotland should remain after the launch. On 28 January 2008, the BBC Trust gave the go-ahead for a Gaelic channel.
The channel began broadcasting on satellite at 9:00 pm on 19 September 2008 with a launch video featuring a new rendition of the Runrig song, Alba. The first part of a live céilidh from Skye, presented by Mary Ann Kennedy, was followed by a specially produced comedy drama entitled Eilbheas (Elvis), starring Greg Hemphill as Elvis Presley, at 9:30 pm. The channel's first independent commission, Peter Manuel – Deireadh an Uilc? (Peter Manuel - The End of Evil?), a drama documentary produced by STV Productions, was shown at 10:30 pm before the opening night closed with the second half of the live celidh from Skye. The launch night was simulcast on BBC Two Scotland between 9:00 pm and 10:30 pm and there was a launch event held at the National Museum of Scotland, which was recorded by the channel's news service An Là.
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