BBC ALBA and Radio nan Gàidheal’s schedules will keep audiences informed, educated and entertained during this unprecedented time with the services providing content in News, Education and Children’s output, Culture, Sport and Religion across platforms, to ensure audiences can access what they need, when they need it.
News: the news output across all Gaelic services, including online and on social media, is a vital service and the BBC’s news teams are working hard to ensure programming continues and key messages are easy to find and share.
From Monday the 30th March BBC ALBA’s An Là will include news and information from communities alongside a new, multiplatform short programme, A-staigh, which will share personal insights into how people across Scotland and beyond are managing social distancing and self-isolation.
On Radio nan Gàidheal, Aithris na Maidne will start the day at its regular time of 0730, handing over to Prògram Choinnich at 0830 to continue discussion on the topics of the day.
Education/Children’s: BBC ALBA is creating BBC iPlayer and YouTube playlists of Gaelic children’s and educational content in a convenient on-demand service. From tomorrow (31 March) box sets of children’s content will start appearing on BBC iPlayer, starting with a fabulous collection of Julia Donaldson animated adaptions. Updates on this will be shared on MG ALBA and BBC ALBA social media pages in the coming days.
Religion: BBC ALBA and Radio nan Gàidheal schedules will feature new religious content, as well as archive services. On Sundays from 29th March BBC ALBA will offer an hour of religious content from 1850-2000. The first archive service to be shown came from St Columba’s Cathedral in Oban led by the late Father Donald MacKay, and is now available on the iPlayer.
Sport: BBC ALBA and Radio nan Gàidheal, will continue to offer sports and entertainment programming. On Saturdays from 4th April at 1800, a series of highlights programmes with a focus on individual sports starts with a look at the world of Women’s Rugby. Radio nan Gàidheal’s award-winning Spòrs na Seachdain continues to offer lively, informed and wide-ranging discussion on sporting matters each Saturday morning at 0900. And BBC ALBA will feature distinctive coverage of fabulous ‘golden games’ from its back catalogue in coming weeks.
Culture: BBC ALBA’s new series Sofa Sessions will use technology to bring local and international artists together to perform for us from their homes. We’ll also be putting some of our best loved musical artists back on stage as Robert Robertson takes a dive into the archive.
BBC ALBA’s producers are working hard on the creation of new content in new and imaginative ways which will ensure that we keep you informed and entertained through the weeks and months to come.
Margaret Mary Murray, the BBC’s Head of Gaelic Services, said: “Working with our partners MG ALBA and producers across Scotland, we wish to ensure that our Gaelic services are responsive and flexible and offer the best possible range of services for audiences. Our priorities are that vital news is shared in a timely and effective manner, that we offer opportunities for spiritual reflection, that young audiences can find resources to inform and educate them and that we offer companionship, amusement and entertainment for all, as we stay at home.”
