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Television in Scotland
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Television in Scotland
Television in Scotland mostly consists of UK-wide broadcasts, with regional variations at different times which are specific to Scotland. The BBC and ITV networks both began broadcasting in the country during the 1950s. There were further expansions in the early 1960s with the arrival of Grampian, Border and BBC2 television. ITV services operate as STV in the country, owned and operated by the STV Group based in Glasgow. Scottish Gaelic language broadcasts are aired on the BBC Alba channel. Distinct and separate channels relating to Scotland include BBC Scotland and That's TV Scotland, which is made up of five different broadcasting licences for Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow following the closure of the STV2 channel in 2018.
Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) represented the main source of demand, financing and commissioning for television programmes in Scotland. The output of PSBs primarily focus on drama, documentary, factual (specialist and entertainment) and current affairs programme productions. Television production in the country is benefited by having a number of regional PSBs around the country, including BBC Scotland and BBC Alba, whilst Channel 4 has a production hub located in the country. Scotland is the only country of the United Kingdom to have its own affiliat of the ITV network, STV. Television production in Scotland generated an estimate £184.7 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022, and spent an estimated £196.6 million in television broadcasting production in the country in 2019.
The experience of commercial expansion of television services in Scotland since has been broadly similar to that in the UK generally. Terrestrial television is available through DTT platform Freeview along with various other channels. Cable services are available to limited parts of the country with Virgin Media, satellite television is provided by Sky and IPTV services are available with BT TV and TalkTalk TV.
Television transmissions in Scotland first began on 14 March 1952 when Britain's sole state broadcaster of the time, the BBC, started broadcasting from the transmitting station at Kirk o'Shotts using the 405-line television system. These early transmissions offered no significant separate content; all BBC programming came direct from London with only very occasional Scottish variation made using an outside broadcast unit. With time, BBC television in Scotland gradually accrued some limited rights to "opt out" of the UK network, particularly after the entry of the Independent Television (ITV) network into the picture, but it was well over 60 years before the corporation allowed an autonomous BBC television channel for the country when it finally launched a still relatively limited BBC Scotland TV service in February 2019.
ITV's Scottish Television (STV) began transmissions on 31 August 1957. Grampian Television, the ITV service for the North-East of the country, was launched in the Spring of 1960. Border Television, with its headquarters in Carlisle, transmitting across the south of Scotland and north of England, followed suit on 1 September 1961. BBC 2 arrived in Scotland in 1966, two years after its initial launch in London. At first this was a black and white service on 625-lines CCIR System I from the Black Hill transmitter. In 1967, when BBC 2 upgraded to PAL colour across the UK, this included Scotland.
Although BBC One UK network programmes upgraded to colour in 1969, local output at first was still in black-and-white. STV likewise made the upgrade to colour in December 1969, and BBC Scotland's Queen Margaret Drive Studio "A" in Glasgow followed suit in 1971, one of the first of the regional BBC studios to make the upgrade.
STV, now legally known as "STV Central Ltd", is currently the largest of the three ITV network franchises in Scotland and the second oldest active franchise holder in the UK (the oldest being ITV Granada).
BBC Scotland and STV have the largest media operations in Scotland in the field of television. BBC Scotland, STV and BBC Alba have the most broadcasting support operations between them which include both terrestrial and digital operations. At a United Kingdom wide network level (not including local spending via BBC Scotland and BBC Alba), the BBC and Channel 4 account for roughly 54% of content spending of Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) in Scotland. BBC television services and Channel 4 accounted for 87% of expenditure in Scotland in 2019.
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Television in Scotland AI simulator
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Television in Scotland
Television in Scotland mostly consists of UK-wide broadcasts, with regional variations at different times which are specific to Scotland. The BBC and ITV networks both began broadcasting in the country during the 1950s. There were further expansions in the early 1960s with the arrival of Grampian, Border and BBC2 television. ITV services operate as STV in the country, owned and operated by the STV Group based in Glasgow. Scottish Gaelic language broadcasts are aired on the BBC Alba channel. Distinct and separate channels relating to Scotland include BBC Scotland and That's TV Scotland, which is made up of five different broadcasting licences for Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow following the closure of the STV2 channel in 2018.
Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) represented the main source of demand, financing and commissioning for television programmes in Scotland. The output of PSBs primarily focus on drama, documentary, factual (specialist and entertainment) and current affairs programme productions. Television production in the country is benefited by having a number of regional PSBs around the country, including BBC Scotland and BBC Alba, whilst Channel 4 has a production hub located in the country. Scotland is the only country of the United Kingdom to have its own affiliat of the ITV network, STV. Television production in Scotland generated an estimate £184.7 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022, and spent an estimated £196.6 million in television broadcasting production in the country in 2019.
The experience of commercial expansion of television services in Scotland since has been broadly similar to that in the UK generally. Terrestrial television is available through DTT platform Freeview along with various other channels. Cable services are available to limited parts of the country with Virgin Media, satellite television is provided by Sky and IPTV services are available with BT TV and TalkTalk TV.
Television transmissions in Scotland first began on 14 March 1952 when Britain's sole state broadcaster of the time, the BBC, started broadcasting from the transmitting station at Kirk o'Shotts using the 405-line television system. These early transmissions offered no significant separate content; all BBC programming came direct from London with only very occasional Scottish variation made using an outside broadcast unit. With time, BBC television in Scotland gradually accrued some limited rights to "opt out" of the UK network, particularly after the entry of the Independent Television (ITV) network into the picture, but it was well over 60 years before the corporation allowed an autonomous BBC television channel for the country when it finally launched a still relatively limited BBC Scotland TV service in February 2019.
ITV's Scottish Television (STV) began transmissions on 31 August 1957. Grampian Television, the ITV service for the North-East of the country, was launched in the Spring of 1960. Border Television, with its headquarters in Carlisle, transmitting across the south of Scotland and north of England, followed suit on 1 September 1961. BBC 2 arrived in Scotland in 1966, two years after its initial launch in London. At first this was a black and white service on 625-lines CCIR System I from the Black Hill transmitter. In 1967, when BBC 2 upgraded to PAL colour across the UK, this included Scotland.
Although BBC One UK network programmes upgraded to colour in 1969, local output at first was still in black-and-white. STV likewise made the upgrade to colour in December 1969, and BBC Scotland's Queen Margaret Drive Studio "A" in Glasgow followed suit in 1971, one of the first of the regional BBC studios to make the upgrade.
STV, now legally known as "STV Central Ltd", is currently the largest of the three ITV network franchises in Scotland and the second oldest active franchise holder in the UK (the oldest being ITV Granada).
BBC Scotland and STV have the largest media operations in Scotland in the field of television. BBC Scotland, STV and BBC Alba have the most broadcasting support operations between them which include both terrestrial and digital operations. At a United Kingdom wide network level (not including local spending via BBC Scotland and BBC Alba), the BBC and Channel 4 account for roughly 54% of content spending of Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) in Scotland. BBC television services and Channel 4 accounted for 87% of expenditure in Scotland in 2019.
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