GRAHAM GRANT: BBC Scotland  – the end of a misbegotten experiment which began life as a political fudge and quickly became a white elephant

BBC Scotland’s linear digital TV channel is to close after seven years, ending a project launched in 2019 to provide programming for Scottish audiences. Its flagship news programme, The Nine, was intended to offer an alternative to a Scotland-based UK-wide bulletin, but drew small audiences and was later replaced.

The channel cost £32 million and was launched amid hopes of addressing years of criticism from nationalists about the BBC’s Scottish coverage. The article says the channel faced criticism for repeats and weak programming; The Nine averaged fewer than 46,000 viewers on launch night, with numbers falling to around 4,200 at points the following evening. SNP politicians have criticised the closure, despite their continuing complaints about the broadcaster.