The BBC has announced a new TV channel in Scotland and an extra £8.5m a year in English language television programmes for Wales.
A new TV channel for the BBC in Scotland will begin broadcasting in autumn 2018, director-general Tony Hall has announced. The plans for the channel include a Scottish news hour at 9pm which will broadcast stories from Scotland, the UK and the world. The director-general also announced an increase of about £20m a year for Scotland to make UK-wide programmes.
The key points of the new channel - which will be called BBC Scotland - are:
- A "prominent" slot on the Electronic Programme Guide (the exact slot will be subject to discussions with providers such a Freeview, Sky and Virgin)
- Available in iPlayer in HD in Scotland and across UK
- Broadcast from 7pm to midnight every evening
- £19m in new money and £11m from programmes currently made for BBC Two in Scotland
- Integrated hour-long news programme at 9pm, edited and presented from Scotland
- 80 new posts for journalists
The BBC also plans to invest an extra £8.5m a year in English language television programmes for Wales. The BBC said the new investment was a 50% increase and would fund new drama, comedy and entertainment programmes.