# JOHN MacLEOD: BBC Scotland was the wrong idea at the wrong time, at the behest of Nationalists for their own unedifying ends. But its demise may have one positive – the first timid reversal of SNP groupthink

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/john-macleod-bbc-scotland-was-the-wrong-idea-at-the-wrong-time-at-the-behest-of-nationalists-for-their-own-unedifying-ends-but-its-demise-may-have-one-positive-the-first-timid-reversal-of-snp-gro/
- Published: 2026-10-26T17:38:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T18:04:08+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16240185/JOHN-MacLEOD-BBC-Scotland-wrong-idea-wrong-time-Nationalists-demise-reversal-SNP-groupthink.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Art, Culture, UK, World

## Key points

- BBC Scotland’s television channel is being wound down.
- The article says only 12 per cent of Scots watched weekly in 2025.
- Its cost had exceeded £200 million by July.

## Summary

BBC Scotland is being wound down as a television channel, with its remaining content expected to continue on iPlayer. The article argues that the channel was created under pressure from Scottish nationalists and that its closure could mark a small retreat from what the writer calls SNP influence over broadcasting.

The channel launched in 2019 with programmes including the news show The Nine and drama Guilt, but the article says it attracted limited audiences and became unaffordable. In 2025, about 12 per cent of Scots aged four and over watched it weekly; by July, its cost to licence fee payers had exceeded £200 million, or nearly £40 million a year. The BBC’s Scottish operation also faces proposed cuts of £10 million and up to 60 job losses.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.