BBC to Launch Scottish Channel With $37.4 Million Budget

The BBC is to launch a Scottish channel, BBC Scotland, next year, backed by £19 million ($23.7 million) in additional funding. Together with existing funding, the channel will have a budget of more than £30 million ($37.4 million).

The British broadcaster is also adding £1.2 million ($1.5 million) to the budget of BBC Alba, its Scottish Gaelic-language digital television channel.

These investments are on top of the £20 million ($24.9 million) extra a year over three years that the BBC has promised to invest in Scottish TV production.

The new channel will air from 7 p.m. every evening, and will carry a full range of content, including its own hour-long news program at 9 p.m., edited and hosted from Scotland.

The move follows Tuesday’s announcement that the BBC would plow an additional £8.5 million ($10.6 million) a year into production in Wales. The BBC said it would make an announcement about what more it will do in Northern Ireland soon.

Tony Hall, BBC director-general, said: “[Viewers in Scotland] want us to better reflect their lives and better reflect modern Scotland. It is vital that we get this right. The best way of achieving that is a dedicated channel for Scotland. It’s a channel that will be bold, creative and ambitious, with a brand-new Scotland-edited international news program at its heart.”

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