Sky Scottish
Former short-lived satellite television channel owned by BSkyB and SMG plc (1996–1998)
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Country | United Kingdom |
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Broadcast area | Scotland |
Ownership | |
Owner |
British Sky Broadcasting
SMG plc |
History | |
Launched | 1 November 1996 |
Closed | 31 May 1998 |
Replaced by | Sky Sports |
Sky Scottish was a short-lived satellite television channel operating on the analogue service broadcasts between 6.00pm and 8.00pm.
History
The service was a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and ITV franchise Scottish Television owners SMG plc , was aimed at Scots living outside Scotland who would not otherwise be able to receive Scottish-related programming, such as that also transmitted by Grampian or the BBC . [1]
The station's main programmes included an extra edition of Scottish Television's regional news programme Scotland Today and episodes of Take the High Road from 1994. Celtic F.C. 's 1997 pre-season friendlies were shown on the channel. Scotsport was also shown on the channel as well as spin-off show Extra Time , and there was also The Football Show presented by Jim Delahunt and Peter McGuire.
Despite BSkyB and SMG entering into a seven-year contract to run the service, [2] it was closed down after 18 months. Its closure was explained as the channel having failed to meet its financial targets. [3] Reports suggested that only The Ibrox Club Hour and The Celtic Park Hour , programmes relating to Rangers and Celtic football clubs, had attracted more than 10,000 viewers. [4]
Speaking about its demise, the managing director of SMG at the time was Donald Emslie, described the service as having "been a valuable learning experience" for his company. [5] SMG's finance director, Gary Hughes, stated that the service had shown "it is very difficult to access a Scottish audience outside Scotland", [1] but also that Scottish audiences wanted more home-grown programmes.
References
- 1 2 Laing, Allan (8 April 1998). "Scottish satellite channel to close". The Herald . Scottish Media Newspapers Ltd.
- ↑ Thompson, Tanya (3 April 1998). "Future of Sky Scottish TV in Balance". The Scotsman . The Scotsman Publications Ltd. p. 4.
- ↑ "Scots Sky Shuts". The Times . Times Newspapers Limited . 8 April 1998.
-
↑
"Plug Pulled on Sky Scottish: Bosses pull the plug on the Sky Scottish satellite TV service".
Daily Record
.
Scottish Daily Record
&
Sunday Mail Ltd
. 8 April 1998. p.
29.
Only the Ibrox and Celtic Park fanzine programmes managed to reach more than 10,000 viewers.
- ↑ "Plug Pulled on Sky Scottish: Bosses pull the plug on the Sky Scottish satellite TV service". Daily Record . Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd . 8 April 1998. p. 29.
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A subsidiary of
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