BBC may cut Scottish radio coverage to make way for Freeview Gaelic channel

Freeview homes in Scotland could lose full access to the BBC's radio stations under plans to put the Gaelic channel Alba on to the digital terrestrial platform. Embarking on a review of Alba just over a year after it was launched, the BBC Trust is to examine whether to make space for it on Freeview by dropping the BBC's radio stations during the channel's broadcast hours.
Alba is currently available only on satellite TV, either on Sky or Freesat, between 5pm and 11.30pm, and has been slated to get a Freeview berth in 2010.

When the trust gave the service the go-ahead last year, it insisted on a review taking place before digital switchover happens in central and northern Scotland in 2010.

As well as examining how to find space for Alba on Freeview, the trust will ask for views on the channel's performance since it was launched in September last year.

It will look at "whether the channel is achieving a wide appeal to viewers beyond existing Gaelic speakers, and whether it is contributing to the broader educational strategy for the language".

The trust will also look at whether BBC2's Gaelic zone should remain in place.

The BBC is spending £4m a year on Alba, with another £10m coming from the Scottish government via MG Alba, formerly known as the Gaelic Media Service.

The trust's public consultation will close on 18 January, with the review to be published before switchover in April.