TeleG was established as the first daily digital Gaelic TV channel in Scotland on 31 October 1999, and was available on the Freeview platform until 23 May 2011. The channel was based in Stornoway.[1]
Programs were transmitted on TeleG between 6pm and 7pm each day. The channel slot was shared with the CITV channel (which broadcast from 6am to 6pm) and ITV2 +1 (which broadcast from 7pm to 6am).
The Broadcasting Act of 1996 required that programs aired would be repeats transmitted on analogue channels (many of which are first shown outside peak hours) between 6pm and 10:30pm.[2] The Communications Act 2003 created the Gaelic Media Service which decides on the future development of Gaelic Broadcasting services.
The broadcaster and service provider of TeleG was SDN, the company which holds the license for DTT multiplex A. SDN, then owned by NTL, S4C and United Business Media, was awarded the Multiplex A licence in May 1998. Part of the capacity on Multiplex A was reserved for services provided by Channel 5, S4C in Wales and Gaelic programming in Scotland. SDN was purchased by ITV plc in 2005.
TeleG initially continued to broadcast after the launch of BBC Alba on 19 September 2008. At launch BBC Alba was only available on satellite television before later being added to cable. TeleG would continue to broadcast until the BBC Trust had reviewed the performance of BBC Alba and announced their decision on whether they would recommend carriage of BBC Alba on Freeview.
In December 2010, the BBC Trust approved a plan put forward by BBC management which would see the thirteen BBC Radio stations which broadcast on Freeview removed from the platform in Scotland during the hours of BBC Alba's broadcast to free up capacity for the TV channel to operate. The radio services would not be affected outside Scotland, and the affected BBC radio stations would continue to be available on other platforms in Scotland including: DAB digital radio, FM/AM (where applicable), satellite and cable TV and online. A date for the change to be brought in has yet to be confirmed, and as the service would broadcast on the BBC's public service multiplex, the effect that this would have on TeleG was not clear. The plans were later revised to allow BBC Radio 1Xtra, 5 Live and 6 Music to continue broadcasting alongside BBC Alba.[3] During its run, the arrangement between TeleG and SDN raised £2.5 million to Stornoway's economy.[1]
It was confirmed on 22 May 2011, that TeleG would close on 23 May, with BBC Alba launched on 8 June 2011, using its old EPG number on Freeview.[4]
Freeview is the United Kingdom's sole digital terrestrial television platform. It is operated by Everyone TV and DTV Services Ltd, a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. It was launched on 30 October 2002, taking over the licence from ITV Digital which collapsed that year. The service provides consumer access via an aerial to the seven DTT multiplexes covering the United Kingdom. As of July 2020, it has 85 TV channels, 26 digital radio channels, 10 HD channels, six text services, 11 streamed channels, and one interactive channel.
S4C is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience. S4C's headquarters are based in Carmarthen, at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's creative and digital centre, Yr Egin. It also has regional offices in Caernarfon and Cardiff. As of 2024, S4C had an average of 118 employees. S4C is the fourth-oldest terrestrial television channel in Wales after BBC One, ITV and BBC Two.
Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.
BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a Scottish Gaelic language radio station owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. The station was launched in 1985 and broadcasts Gaelic-language programming with the simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland. Its headquarters is located on Seaforth Road, Stornoway along with BBC Alba and MG Alba.
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Gaelic broadcasting in Scotland is a developing area of the media in Scotland which deals with broadcasts given in Scottish Gaelic and has important links with the efforts of Gaelic revival in Scotland. As well as being informative, Gaelic broadcasting in Scotland has acquired some symbolic importance. Whilst opinion polls show that the vast majority of Gaels feel they have been ill-served by broadcasting media, Scotland now has Gaelic broadcasting all over Scotland both on television and radio.
BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. The station is unique in that it is the first channel to be delivered under a BBC licence by a partnership and was also the first multi-genre channel to come entirely from Scotland with almost all of its programmes made in Scotland.
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Quest is a British and Irish free-to-air television channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It provides factual, lifestyle and entertainment programmes and other imported material, as well as films and sports coverage. It is operated by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Freeview is the name for the collection of free-to-air services on the digital terrestrial television platform in the United Kingdom. The service was launched at 5am on 30 October 2002 and is jointly operated by its five equal shareholders – BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB and transmitter operator Arqiva. This article documents the history of the Freeview service, from its inception up to the present.
This is a list of events in Scottish television from 2011.
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