BBC radio to stay in Scotland

Three national radio stations are to remain on Freeview 24/7 in Scotland once BBC Alba launches in the near future.

1 Extra, 5 Live and 6 Music will continue 24 hours a day, but all other stations including BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 2 will be restricted to certain times of the day.

BBC Alba will broadcast from around 1700 till midnight on weekdays, borrowing capacity currently used by numerous radio stations. Until now, it was expected all 13 radio stations would lose their slots after the BBC Trust approved the launch of BBC ALBA on Freeview in December last year.

At the time, BBC Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons said: “The question of how to make BBC ALBA more widely available to licence fee payers in Scotland is a good example of the wider issue of distribution choices which we have been grappling with as part of our recent Strategy Review – how the BBC should best reach audiences as platforms increase. Through the Strategy Review we’ve committed the BBC to doing more to ensure that its services can be conveniently accessed by all audiences, and doing more to represent the nations. Enabling BBC ALBA to be carried on Freeview is a key part of that commitment.”