BBC launches controversial £21m Gaelic channel - costing £365 per native speaker

The BBC will spend £11million a year on a Gaelic television channel that will serve fewer than 60,000 people.

The publicly-funded Gaelic Media Service will contribute another £10million annually to the channel, called BBC Alba.

The 2001 census indicates there are only 58,969 in Britain who speak the language.

If all tune in, taxpayers are stumping up an astonishing £365 per viewer.

However, because Alba will initially be available only on cable and satellite services, audiences figures are likely to be lower.

The channel will launch at 9pm on September 19 with a new drama starring Chewin' the Fat star Greg Hemphill as Elvis and a live concert from the Isle of Skye.

It aims to broadcast a wide range of sport, news, children's programmes, documentaries and entertainment.

The project has met with fury within the corporation, which is facing significant cutbacks. One detractor pointed out: 'This is a time when up to 1,800 BBC staff face losing their jobs.'

Even in Scotland, critics are concerned that the service could prompt a dramatic cut in the number of Gaelic programmes provided by mainstream broadcasters.

John Whittingdale, Tory chair of the influential Commons' culture, media and sport select committee, said the expense was 'difficult for the BBC to justify.

'This is a channel that will be watched by a minuscule amount of people. How the BBC can afford to spend £11million a year on such a niche channel whilst at the same time complaining about its resources being stretched, I just don't know. 

'If in Scotland they feel it is important to preserve the language in this way, then I suggest it something that Scottish Parliament should fund themselves.'

There is a Welsh broadcaster, S4C, which is funded by the public but Mr Whittingdale said that this was better justified because the number of people speaking the language was growing and it will be viewed by a far larger audience.

Fewer than 60,000 people in Scotland speak the Gaelic, this is slightly more than 1 per cent of the population.

However the corporation insisted that the launch of Alba was a 'wonderful milestone for broadcasting'.

The corporation's controller in Scotland said: 'The launch next month of BBC Alba is the realisation of a long-held ambition of the Gaelic community and an achievement for those who worked so hard to bring it about.

'BBC Alba will offer a new and enhanced service to the Gaelic audience and will also reach out to the wider Scottish audience by offering a range of attractive and compelling programmes.'