Alba an Aigh? The BBC's bastard station that could cost more
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 9:10 am
Fear ris an canar Iain Hepburn
'Amidst all the BBC 6 Music, Asian Network and website cuts rows kicking about over the last few days, there's been a smaller story up here which has gathered far less attention, yet is potentially as big - if not bigger - a drain on resources and vanity project for the BBC than its DAB music offering.
And it's also sparked a little sense of deja vu in me. Since it also proves there's nothing new in news...
I first wrote about the BBC Alba situation in 2008, and returned to it again last September - long before the Sunday Mail's 'exclusive' follow-up last week (and Edinburgh agency Deadline's follow-up of that). Indeed it was one of the stories which helped me win the multimedia journalist of the year award at last year's Scottish Press Awards, so it's been fascinating to see how it's been returned to by the news industry in the light of the BBC cuts row.
The row, if you missed it, revolves around BARB - the national viewing figures board which measures the number of people watching British TV channels. Or rather, TV channels except for ALBA - the only BBC network not accounted for by conventional means. Instead, polling is done to gauge the reach of the channel among the Gaelic community and beyond.
It is a channel paid for by taxpayers with no way of accurately measuring delivery and value for money. Now, the BBC and MG Alba argue that by providing a Gaelic-only service, it's delivering to an audience not currently properly served on Scottish TV. And to an extent, that's spot on. But it is also a channel which is shored up by buying in live music, football and other sporting rights. And it's a channel viewable by only a small proportion of the available audience.'
tuilleadh an seo:
http://www.iainmhepburn.com/blog/2010/3 ... ore-t.html
'Amidst all the BBC 6 Music, Asian Network and website cuts rows kicking about over the last few days, there's been a smaller story up here which has gathered far less attention, yet is potentially as big - if not bigger - a drain on resources and vanity project for the BBC than its DAB music offering.
And it's also sparked a little sense of deja vu in me. Since it also proves there's nothing new in news...
I first wrote about the BBC Alba situation in 2008, and returned to it again last September - long before the Sunday Mail's 'exclusive' follow-up last week (and Edinburgh agency Deadline's follow-up of that). Indeed it was one of the stories which helped me win the multimedia journalist of the year award at last year's Scottish Press Awards, so it's been fascinating to see how it's been returned to by the news industry in the light of the BBC cuts row.
The row, if you missed it, revolves around BARB - the national viewing figures board which measures the number of people watching British TV channels. Or rather, TV channels except for ALBA - the only BBC network not accounted for by conventional means. Instead, polling is done to gauge the reach of the channel among the Gaelic community and beyond.
It is a channel paid for by taxpayers with no way of accurately measuring delivery and value for money. Now, the BBC and MG Alba argue that by providing a Gaelic-only service, it's delivering to an audience not currently properly served on Scottish TV. And to an extent, that's spot on. But it is also a channel which is shored up by buying in live music, football and other sporting rights. And it's a channel viewable by only a small proportion of the available audience.'
tuilleadh an seo:
http://www.iainmhepburn.com/blog/2010/3 ... ore-t.html
