A chàirdean,
BBC ALBA has now been on air for seven weeks, and we’re delighted with the audience response to our programmes. When the first survey results came in, we found out that more than 610,000 people (around 15% of Scotland’s adult population) tuned in during the channel’s first week, and that around one in four people (23%) in the Highlands and Islands had watched the channel – really encouraging figures! We know this is only the beginning of the story, of course, but it shows that people in Scotland respond positively to Gaelic if it’s presented in an attractive way.
Remember that BBC ALBA is available on Freesat 110 and Sky 168 and on the iPlayer. We are still waiting for news from Virgin Media about cable, but in the meantime Virgin Media customers can see the programmes through the iPlayer. We are grateful for the support of organisations and individuals in the drive to secure a place for BBC ALBA on Freeview, and we would encourage you to make your views on the matter known to us or to the BBC or to your members of parliament.
Now, on a more unusual note, how about giving BBC ALBA as a Christmas present to your parents, friends and others? You make a one-off payment and then you can get the channel free thereafter. There’s more information on this later in this newsletter, but if you want to talk to someone about this, give us a call.
This newsletter also provides information about the events we’ll be involved with during November. And it introduces you to Donnie MacDonald from our finance team, who’s responsible for insuring that programme budgets are properly spent. I hope you enjoy this newsletter, and that you’ll keep an eye on our website www.mgalba.com for all the latest news.
Le dùrachd,
Dòmhnall Caimbeul
Àrd Oifigear MG ALBA
Sport
There will be live international rugby on BBC ALBA on 14th November, when the “A” teams of Scotland and Georgia go head to head, kicking off at 6pm. The final of the ALBA Challenge Cup, between Ross County and Airdrie United, will be played in Perth on 16th November, and the game will be broadcast live on BBC ALBA from 3pm. And remember that there are SPL games on BBC ALBA every Saturday. Keep an eye on www.bbcalba.co.uk for more information.
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BAFTA Awards The Lloyds TSB BAFTA Scotland Awards Ceremony will be taking place in Glasgow on 9th November, and Fiona MacKenzie, “the face of the channel”, and others from MG ALBA will be playing host to guests from the television industry. We congratulate everyone who’s been shortlisted for an award, and we look forward to the night of the awards and to the opportunity to celebrate the best of Scottish film and television programmes. |
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iPlayer
If you have missed a programme, remember that you have another opportunity to catch a selection of our programmes on the iPlayer, which now has a BBC ALBA homepage. Visit www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer or follow the link from www.bbcalba.co.uk or through Virgin Media, and you can watch programmes again for seven days after they’ve been broadcast.
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FilmG You’d better get your skates on if you want to take part in FilmG, our short film competition. There are some excellent prizes to be won and a chance for the winners to take a step up the ladder to a career in television production. If you’re interested in entering your film, remember that the deadline’s 1st December. Find out more at www.filmg.co.uk. |
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BBC ALBA for Christmas
Wouldn’t it be great to give someone BBC ALBA as a Christmas gift? You can get BBC ALBA from Sky if you subscribe to one of their packages (www.sky.com), or you can get it free through Freesat (www.freesat.co.uk) or through Freesat from Sky (www.freesatfromsky.co.uk) and you won’t have anything to pay besides the cost of the equipment itself and the work required to install it.
Confused? If you’re not sure what’s the best option for you, contact Digital UK, the organisation established to give people information about digital switchover (www.digitaluk.co.uk), or call us at MG ALBA on 01851 705550. And have a look at what’s available from local suppliers – you might bag a bargain!
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Getting to know ... Donnie MacDonald Donnie MacDonald is MG ALBA’s Project Finance Executive. He’s from Shader in Lewis, and he’s been working for the company for 16 years. How did you come to work in Gaelic broadcasting and what do you do at MG ALBA? I started as a Finance Assistant for the Gaelic Television Committee when it was first established in 1992, and it was great to be involved in Gaelic broadcasting from the beginning. The organisation’s changed a lot since then and my own job has evolved too. I look after financial matters relating to television production grants, making sure that we get value for money and auditing the way in which producers are spending MG ALBA’s funds. What do you think of BBC ALBA now that it’s on air? It’s amazing that we have the channel at long last, with Gaelic programmes in prime time seven days a week. I particularly enjoy the music programmes, as I play the guitar and mandolin – although I’ve long since abandoned my ambition to become a rock star – and as a parent to two young children I’m really pleased that there are children’s programmes every day. The channel is a valuable resource for parents who are bringing up their children with Gaelic. |
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BBC ALBA is on Sky 168 and Freesat 110.
BBC ALBA is a partnership service between MG ALBA and the BBC.