Sky Scottish

Sky Scottish was a short lived satellite television channel operating on the analogue Sky TV service.

Sky Scottish
Slogan"It's Good To Come Home To!"
Ownership
OwnerBSkyB, SMG plc
History
Launched1 November 1996
Closed31 May 1998
Availability
At time of closure
Satellite
Sky MultichannelsAstra 1E, 10.862H

The service, a joint venture between BSkyB and ITV franchise Scottish Television owners SMG plc (now STV Group plc), was aimed at Scots living outside Scotland who would not otherwise be able to receive Scottish programming, such as that transmitted within Scotland by Scottish Television, Grampian Television or BBC Scotland.[1] It broadcast between 6.00 pm and 8.00 pm.

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. 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] Sky Scottish 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, 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. Laing, Allan (8 April 1998). "Scottish satellite channel to close". The Herald. Scottish Media Newspapers Ltd.
  2. Thompson, Tanya (3 April 1998). "Future of Sky Scottish TV in Balance". The Scotsman. The Scotsman Publications Ltd. p. 4.
  3. "Scots Sky Shuts". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. 8 April 1998.
  4. "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.
  5. "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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