Television in Scotland

Television in Scotland mostly consists of UK-wide broadcasts, with variations at different times which are specific to Scotland. Scotland has no major television channel of its own and most people receive channels that are broadcast to the United Kingdom as a whole, including five terrestrial channels and various digital channels.

Terrestrial channels

Viewers in Scotland receive four or five public terrestrial television stations. All of these are regional variants/opt-outs upon British television channels. In addition to the three Scottish stations, the country also receives two UK-wide channels, as well as a multitude of European digital and satellite stations: Channel 4, and Channel 5, whose broadcast coverage is more limited, and in very remote areas difficult or impossible to receive.

BBC Scotland

Scotland has its own BBC Scotland services, BBC One Scotland and BBC Two Scotland, which commenced broadcasting on 14 March 1952 and 20 April 1964 respectively. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football and rugby union leagues and national teams, separate from those of the other United Kingdom constituent nations and other sporting interests unique to Scotland, such as shinty or curling. Viewers on the Freeview HD platform within the BBC Scotland broadcasting area can now re-opt-in to the BBC network when Scotland opts out via BBC1 HD and BBC HD channels, extending choice to Scottish viewers which was only previously an option for satellite and cable viewers.

Scottish Television

Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active (Granada Television being the oldest). The channel is now owned and operated by STV Group plc (formerly SMG plc), which also owns another independent television franchise, Grampian Television (now STV North), based in Aberdeen.

STV Central produces news for the west and east halves of its transmission region (STV News at Six) along with current affairs, politics and sports programmes for Northern and Central Scotland. Along with STV North and ITV Tyne Tees & Border, STV Central is a commercial rival to the publicly funded national broadcaster, BBC Scotland, and is based alongside its studios at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.

History

Scottish Television was founded by Canadian newspaper magnate Roy Thomson (later Lord Thomson). As a base he bought the Theatre Royal, Glasgow from Howard & Wyndham Ltd, who became minor partners in the new venture. Thomson invited Canadian television producer Rai Purdy to become the station's first head of programming. In the months leading up to opening night, Purdy pledged that the new channel would provide first class entertainment and as much cultural programming as possible as well as allowing Scottish talent every opportunity to develop and be seen on STV.

Scottish

Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:

See also

Scottish people

The Scottish people (Scots: Scots Fowk, Scottish Gaelic: Albannaich), or Scots, are a nation and socially defined ethnic group resident in Scotland. Historically, they emerged from an amalgamation of two groups—the Picts and Gaels—who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or Alba) in the 9th century, and thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celts. Later, the neighbouring Cumbrian Britons, who also spoke a Celtic language, as well as Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons and Norse, were incorporated into the Scottish nation.

In modern use, "Scottish people" or "Scots" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, family ancestral or genetic origins are from within Scotland. The Latin word Scotti originally referred to the Gaels but came to describe all inhabitants of Scotland. Though sometimes considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has also been used for the Scottish people, though this usage is current primarily outside Scotland.

There are people of Scottish descent in many countries other than Scotland. Emigration, influenced by factors such as the Highland and Lowland Clearances, Scottish participation in the British Empire, and latterly industrial decline and unemployment, resulted in Scottish people being found throughout the world. Large populations of Scottish people settled the new-world lands of North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. There is a Scottish presence at a particularly high level in Canada, which has the highest level per-capita of Scots descendants in the world and second largest population of descended Scots ancestry after the United States. They took with them their Scottish languages and culture.

Scottish language

Scottish language may refer to:

See also