Cash crisis at BBC Alba as viewers drop

‘Second-class service’

A GAELIC language television channel is pleading for more public cash after running at a loss as viewer numbers slump.

MG Alba, which runs BBC Alba, is calling for an increase in funding despite being given more than £13million last year from the Scottish Government.

The plea comes as its annual report and accounts show fewer people are watching its programmes on TV and on the iPlayer streaming service.

MG Alba noted a £19,412 loss in the year to the end of March 2019, against a £20,236 profit the previous year.

The firm criticised the BBC for offering viewers a ‘second-class service’ by providing only standard definition output, while the new BBC Scotland channel broadcasts in high definition.

In its annual report, MG Alba said it had celebrated ten years of the BBC Alba channel. But it added: ‘The overall framework for Gaelic media provision urgently needs to be reviewed.

‘The existing funding settlement, which has no long-term security, will not be sufficient to meet the public service rights of those we serve or to fully address the challenges ahead of us.

‘It is only capable of sustaining 25 per cent of the schedule as first-run programmes. This is in stark contrast to the new BBC Scotland channel to which the BBC made a commitment that no more than 50 per cent of its output will comprise of repeats.

‘MG Alba will invite the BBC, Ofcom, Scottish Government and the UK Government to engage in a dialogue aimed at reaching a new settlement.’

In 2018-19, MG Alba produced £12.4million of content – £1.3million more than the previous year. Total income was £13.6million, including £13.4million from the Scottish Government, but it ran up a £19,412 deficit.

Wages and salaries rose by 10 per cent, from £1.12million in 2017-18 to £1.24million. MG Alba said its ‘weekly reach’ – the proportion of the potential audience that tunes in at least once during a week – fell from 11.3 per cent to 10.3 per cent. It recorded 3.9million iPlayer views – down from 4.1million the year before

MG Alba said: ‘Despite this extremely challenging environment, coupled with the very high repeat rate caused by significant underfunding, average weekly reach Scotlandwide was 10 per cent and weekly reach with the Gaelic population was 59 per cent.’

The firm added: ‘BBC Alba remains technically disadvantaged in that it is broadcast with lower picture quality.

‘There is no acceptable basis for Gaelic speaking viewers to have a second-class service.’

The Scottish Government said it was ‘a strong supporter of BBC Alba’, adding it ‘is supportive of the request for dialogue’.