New Gaelic digital service gets go ahead

The Gaelic Media Service (GMS) and BBC Scotland are to work together to produce a new digital service for Gaelic audiences. The BBC’s Board of Governors and the Board of the GMS have this week given the green light for planning to commence on setting up a digital service, which will involve television, radio and Internet content.

It is hoped that the service could be up and running within a year. It will be funded primarily through the Gaelic Media Service, which is financed by the Scottish Executive, with further funding through BBC Scotland. The partnership decision follows months of discussions by a working group which included representatives of the GMS and BBC.

The group - independently chaired by former Euro MP Professor Sir Neil MacCormick - drew up a series of principles on which the service could be based and examined a number of specific operational issues which this week were scrutinised by both boards. The Gaelic Media Service and BBC Scotland project team will now start to examine in detail how the service might operate and be managed, the platforms on which it will be delivered and its scheduling and content strategy. Further consideration will be given to financial and legal issues which will impact directly on its development. Any licensing approvals would be sought before the launch of the service.

On the boards’ decisions, Professor Sir Neil MacCormick said: “I am delighted that we have reached a position that will allow BBC Scotland and GMS to start to put the service together. I would pay tribute to the constructive dialogue and goodwill that both sides have exhibited to ensure that we have arrived at a mutually satisfactory result. The real beneficiaries in all of this, I am sure, will be the Gaelic audience.”

(Source: BBC Scotland Press Office)