SCOT- LAND - Scottish Screen

made in scotlanD TV
MG ALBA
It’s 15 minutes into a Champions’
League qualifier, and while Celtic
and Dinamo Moscow are battling it
out on the pitch at Parkhead, interviews
are already taking place pitchside. The
name on the base of the microphone
is, perhaps surprisingly, MG ALBA,
formerly the Gaelic Media Service.
Funded directly by the Scottish
Government, MG ALBA works in
partnership with the BBC to deliver
BBC ALBA, making Gaelic language
programming with a unique, crossshared
media vision that reaches
hundreds of thousands of Scots, not all
of whom are Gaelic speakers.
“Sport is something which has worked
particularly well for us in the nine
months or so since BBC ALBA went
on the air,” says Chief Executive of
MG ALBA Donald Campbell. “Having
a broadcast exclusive on the Celtic
game is the kind of event which gives
us a summer impact in terms of
commanding a sizable audience, much
as the same way covering an Andy
Murray match at Wimbledon does for
the BBC. It’s pleasing to be covering a
big match like this, one in which many
people have an interest. We have had
good audiences for SPL games, as well
as rugby, shinty and other sports. Sport
at a national level is an ideal way for
us to get Gaelic broadcasting into the
consciousness of viewers.”
“We’re also very proud of the
work we’ve created in terms of our
documentary strands; in the past, most
documentaries have been in a half
hour format so that they can form part
of a regional opt-out. But the Gaelic
production sector has worked hard
with us to create a series of first class
documentaries for the weekday 9 to
10pm slot. These are stories which we
believe are of compelling interest to
Scottish audiences. Most of them are
fresh work but some are acquisitions
from the international markets. So
viewers tuning in to Soillse might
see a show about a Tibetian monk,
Zinedine Zidane, or a German-made
film about Polynesian bungee jumpers.
We have a contract with a production
company who help us make sure the
programmes we buy fit our remit,” says
Campbell.
“One film we commissioned was
about a lady in her 90’s who was born
on Eilean nan Ròn off Sutherland,
then settled near Norwich after the
island was evacuated in the 1930’s.
We took her back to where she came
from by helicopter and it made for
a tremendous film. She was a great
subject to cover, and she was delighted
when people recognised her in the
street afterwards.”
With regular weekly ratings of 200,000
to 222,000 and with a core staff base
of fewer than 30 employees, BBC
ALBA’s productions, helped by their
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