BBC Scotland facts for kids
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BBC Scotland's area within the UK
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| Country | |
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| Headquarters | BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Area | Scotland |
| Parent | BBC |
| Language | English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) |
BBC Scotland is a part of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is based in Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay. About 1,250 people work there, making 15,000 hours of TV and radio shows each year.
BBC Scotland runs TV channels like BBC One Scotland, the BBC Scotland channel, and the Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba. It also has radio stations like BBC Radio Scotland and the Gaelic-language BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.
It is one of four main BBC broadcasters in the UK. The others are for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Money collected in Scotland helps pay for these services. BBC Scotland also makes many hours of shows for the whole UK.
Contents
How BBC Scotland Started
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Early Radio Shows
The first radio service in Scotland began on 6 March 1923. It was called 5SC and was in Glasgow. More stations opened in Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh.
Around 1927, these local stations joined together under the name BBC Regional Programme. Later, in 1939, these regional shows became part of the BBC Home Service. A separate radio station, BBC Radio Scotland, started in November 1978.
Television Arrives
Television in Scotland officially started on 14 March 1952. At first, most shows came from London. But some Scottish shows were made using special outside broadcast equipment.
By 1962, there were plans for TV news studios in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Over time, BBC Scotland gained the right to show more of its own programmes instead of just the UK-wide ones.
When BBC Two came to Scotland in 1966, it started in black and white. Then, in 1967, BBC Two began broadcasting in colour across the UK. BBC One and STV followed in December 1969. By 1971, BBC Scotland's main studio in Glasgow was one of the first regional studios in Britain to broadcast in colour.
In September 1998, BBC Choice Scotland launched. This was BBC Scotland's first digital TV service.
Recent Changes
For many years, BBC Scotland has worked to make more shows for the whole UK. This became easier when its main office moved to BBC Pacific Quay in 2007. New, modern digital studios were built there.
In March 2021, the BBC decided to move some jobs and departments from London to other parts of the UK, including BBC Scotland. This included the BBC's technology team moving to Glasgow. Some BBC shows, like The Weakest Link, also moved to be made by BBC Scotland in Glasgow.
The BBC's main political show, Question Time, moved its permanent home to Glasgow in 2009.
What BBC Scotland Offers Now
Television Channels
BBC Scotland broadcasts three TV channels for people in Scotland.
- BBC One Scotland is a special version of BBC One. It can show its own local programmes instead of the UK-wide BBC One schedule. Its main news show is BBC Reporting Scotland. BBC One Scotland also broadcasts Scottish shows like Sportscene and BBC Scotland Investigates.
- BBC Alba broadcasts shows in Gaelic for several hours a day. It is a partnership between BBC Scotland and MG Alba. You can watch it across the UK on satellite and cable, and on Freeview in Scotland. When it's not showing TV programmes, it broadcasts the Gaelic radio station BBC Radio nan Gàidheal with a screen showing what's playing.
- BBC Scotland channel started broadcasting on 24 February 2019. This channel shows only new and old Scottish programmes. It broadcasts from 7:00 p.m. to midnight every night. It includes a special hour-long news show made in Scotland. This channel gets £32 million in funding each year.
Shows on the BBC Scotland channel include Debate Night, The Entertainment Mix, and Scotland's Home of the Year. Its main news show, The Nine, was replaced in December 2024 by a shorter programme called Reporting Scotland: News at Seven. This new show airs right after Reporting Scotland on BBC One Scotland.
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Radio Stations
BBC Scotland also runs two radio stations across Scotland:
- BBC Radio Scotland broadcasts English programmes 24 hours a day. It has special local shows for Orkney and Shetland. It also has local news for other areas like the North East and Highlands.
- BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a Gaelic-language station. It broadcasts for most of the day.
Online and Digital Services
BBC Scotland has a special section on BBC Online. This part of the website provides Scottish news, sports, programmes, and cultural information. It also provides content for the BBC Red Button interactive TV service.
The BBC iPlayer service allows people to watch and download almost all BBC programmes, including news. Because of this, some older online services from BBC Scotland were stopped.
BBC's The Social is a digital content stream from BBC Scotland. It is made for young adults aged 18–34. The Social creates daily content about different topics like comedy, music, and gaming. It started in December 2015.
In June 2018, the BBC announced a new "digital hub" in Glasgow. This hub helps with designing and building BBC digital platforms.
BBC Scotland's Studios
First Studios
BBC Scotland began broadcasting from Aberdeen on 10 October 1923. The first broadcast faced challenges due to bad weather, but engineers fixed the issues.
The first main office for BBC Scotland was in Rex House in Glasgow. Later, it moved to Edinburgh, but then came back to Glasgow in 1936. This new location was at Queen Margaret College on Queen Margaret Drive. BBC Scotland stayed there until 2007.
In the early 1960s, BBC Scotland built three colour TV studios and radio facilities next to its Queen Margaret Drive base. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra used a large sound studio there until 2006.
Pacific Quay Headquarters
BBC Scotland's main office is now at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow. This new building was needed because the old one was too small and technology had changed. The BBC wanted a new building with the latest digital technology to make better quality shows.
The new studio centre was built between 2004 and 2006. It opened in September 2007. The building cost about £188 million. It has three TV studios and five radio studios. It also has the first HD newsroom used by the BBC.
Other Locations
Besides Glasgow and Edinburgh, BBC Scotland also has offices and studios in other towns. These include Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, and Stornoway. Some of these locations, like Kirkwall and Lerwick, have their own local radio shows.
BBC Scotland also has a drama studio in Dumbarton. This is where shows like Still Game and River City are filmed. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is now based at Glasgow City Halls.
BBC Scotland's Programmes
Current Shows
BBC Scotland makes many local programmes for Scottish audiences.
- News and Current Affairs: Reporting Scotland and Scotland 2016 provide news and discussions.
- Drama: River City is a popular drama series.
- Sport: Shows like Sportscene cover many local sports, including football and rugby.
- Comedy: BBC Scotland produces many comedy shows for radio and TV.
- Features and Documentaries: This is BBC Scotland's biggest area. Shows like The Beechgrove Garden and Landward cover different parts of Scottish life.
BBC Scotland also makes shows for the whole UK. These include dramas like Shetland and Waterloo Road. They also produce game shows and parts of UK-wide programmes like Children in Need.
Before 2010, many Gaelic programmes were shown on BBC One and Two Scotland. Now, most of them are on BBC Alba. Two important Gaelic shows are Dè a-nis? and Eòrpa. Eòrpa was praised in a report in 2008, even by people who didn't speak Gaelic. It moved to BBC Alba in 2019.
Past Shows
Over the years, BBC Scotland has made many well-known radio and TV shows. Some were for the whole UK, and others were just for Scotland. These "opt out" programmes showed Scottish culture and life.
Some popular past current affairs shows included Compass and Current Account.
BBC Scotland has made many comedy series, such as Scotch and Wry, Rab C. Nesbitt, and Still Game. Dramas included Hamish Macbeth and Monarch of the Glen. More recent comedies include Mrs. Brown's Boys and Two Doors Down.
Television Announcers
From around 1977, BBC Scotland started using its own TV announcers. They would introduce shows and special BBC Scotland idents. Before this, announcers from London were heard most of the time.
From 1979, these announcers also read the lunchtime news bulletin on screen. They also started reading news summaries before children's programmes and later in the evening. From 1988, newsroom staff took over reading the news summaries.
Leaders of BBC Scotland
Here are some of the people who have led BBC Scotland over the years:
- Herbert A. Carruthers (1923)
- David Cleghorn Thomson (1926–1933)
- Melville D. Dinwiddie (1933–1957)
- Andrew Stewart (1957–1968)
- Alasdair Milne (1968–1973)
- Robert Coulter (1973–1975)
- Alastair Hetherington (1975–1978)
- Patrick Ramsey (1978–1982)
- Patrick Chalmers (1982 – December 1991)
- John McCormick (January 1992 – April 2004)
- Ken MacQuarrie (April 2004 – 2016)
- Donalda MacKinnon (December 2016 – October 2020)
- Steve Carson (October 2020 – present)
See also
In Spanish: BBC Scotland para niños
- Scottish Broadcasting Commission
- Audience Council Scotland
- Saorview
- Public Account
- BBC Reporting Scotland
