BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 1978. [1]
![]() Logo used since 2022 | |
Broadcast area | Scotland: FM, MW, DAB and Freeview United Kingdom: BBC Sounds and cable and satellite television |
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Frequency | FM: 92.5–94.7 MHz AM: 810 kHz DAB: 11B, 11C and 12D Freeview: 719 (Scotland only) Freesat: 712 Sky: 0116 (UK only) Virgin Media: 930 |
RDS | BBC Scot |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | News, music, sport, talk |
Ownership | |
Owner | BBC |
Operator | BBC Scotland |
History | |
First air date | 23 November 1978 |
Former frequencies | 585 MW |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Ofcom |
Links | |
Webcast | BBC Sounds |
Website | bbc |
Radio Scotland is broadcast in English, whilst sister station Radio nan Gàidheal broadcasts in Scottish Gaelic.
According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 827,000 and has a listening share of 6.8% as of September 2023.[2]
History
The first BBC Radio Scotland broadcast was on 17 December 1973, two weeks earlier than planned.[3]
BBC Radio Scotland was founded as a full-time radio network on 23 November 1978.[4] Previously it was possible only to opt out of BBC Radio 4, and the service was known as Radio 4 Scotland or, formally on air, as "BBC Scotland Radio 4". The establishment of a separate network was made possible when Radio 4 became a fully UK-wide network when it moved from medium wave to long wave and new VHF (FM) transmitters were brought into service so that Radio 4 and Radio Scotland no longer had to share on FM. However it was not until the early 1990s that Radio 4 was available on FM across all of Scotland so for its first decade on air, the station only broadcast during the day so that Radio 4 could be heard on Radio Scotland's transmitters in the evening to compensate for poorer AM reception after dark.
Kirsty Wark launched her career on BBC Radio Scotland, first as a researcher and then as a producer.[5]
Programmes
Radio Scotland broadcasts a wide range of programming, including news, debate, music, drama, comedy and sports. It is broadcast from the BBC Scotland headquarters in the Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Overnight, the station simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live during its downtime.
Local opt-outs
BBC Radio Orkney and BBC Radio Shetland opt out of BBC Radio Scotland for 30 minutes each weekday to broadcast a local news programme and during the winter months this is supplemented for both areas by an additional hour-long programme. Local news and weather bulletins are also broadcast as opt-outs from news studios in Selkirk, Dumfries, Aberdeen and Inverness on weekdays.
Notable presenters
- Kaye Adams (news)
- John Beattie (sport)
- Bryan Burnett (music)
- Stuart Cosgrove (sport)
- Tam Cowan (sport)
- Archie Fisher (music)
- Vic Galloway (music)
- Jim Gellatly (music)
- Richard Gordon (sport)
- Gary Innes (music)
- Mary Ann Kennedy (lifestyle, features and documentaries)
- Fred MacAulay (lifestyle, features and documentaries)
- Cathy MacDonald (music)
- Bruce MacGregor (music)
- Sally Magnusson (lifestyle, features and documentaries)
- Tom Morton (music)
- Shereen Nanjiani (news)
- Natasha Raskin Sharp (music)
- Ricky Ross (music)
- Graham Stewart (news)
- Grant Stott (music)
- Gary West (music)
Heads of Radio, Scotland
![](../I/BBC_Radio_Scotland_logo_2020.svg.png.webp)
The title "Head of Radio, Scotland" was applied to cover not only the Radio Scotland service but also BBC Scotland's radio productions for other networks.
Years served | H.R.S. |
---|---|
1978–1979 | John Pickles |
1980–1983 | Christopher Irwin |
1983–1987 | Stan Taylor |
1987–1992 | Neil Fraser |
1992–1996 | James Boyle |
1996–2000 | Ken MacQuarrie |
2000–2005 | Maggie Cunningham |
2005–2017 | Jeff Zycinski |
2017–present | Gareth Hynes |
References
- McDowell, W.H. (1992). The History of BBC Broadcasting in Scotland 1923-1983. Edinburgh University Press. p. 260. ISBN 0-7486-0376-X.
- https://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - "Radio Scotland off their mark". The Herald. 18 December 1973. p. 5. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- Young, Andrew (7 November 1978). "Star line-up as Radio Scotland goes pop". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 4. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- "Visual Arts Group". Ayrshirarts.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
Further reading
- Lockerbie, Catherine (1985), "Making Waves: Radio in Scotland", in Parker, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus No. 20, Spring 1985, pp. 8 - 11, ISSN 0264-0856