2025 has been one of the most successful years for BBC ALBA since the channel was launched by the partnership of MG ALBA and the BBC in 2008.

The Gaelic language has reached new audiences across the UK and into Europe and the channel has won international awards and plaudits.

But this success has also brought the serious funding issues faced by MG ALBA into sharp focus.

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Lack of funding threatens to undermine future development of Gaelic broadcasting. This is particularly the case when it comes to producing more high-impact drama, similar to our recent and hugely successful crime thriller, An t-Eilean (The Island).

It will also stall the essential shift to digital services to attract younger audiences and threaten the recent growth in the number of people speaking the language.

Envy is not an emotion I would wish to admit, but it is impossible to avoid a comparison with our Celtic cousins in Wales. This year, the gap between the annual funding for Gaelic and Welsh television will widen to nearly £100 million. Yes, £100 million.

Why is the value of one Celtic language so much more than the other?

An t-Eilean was named best drama at the European TV awards(Image: CIRCOM Regional)

It is a question the board of MG ALBA regularly asks. What we do know is that the solution lies with the Scottish and UK Governments.

Without a serious uplift for Gaelic broadcasting and a proper funding mechanism put in place, the gap will continue to grow.

Already we have seen new programmes for BBC ALBA reduced by nearly a third over 10 years, so despite the financial restraints it was reassuring to learn that An t-Eilean had become the most-watched Gaelic

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