2007 in Scottish television

This is a list of events in Scottish television from 2007.

Events

• 7 January – Death of television presenter Magnus Magnusson, long-time presenter of the BBC's Mastermind.
• 10 January – Scottish Media Group and Belfast-based UTV agree the details of a merger, including a revised share split between the two. UTV will own 54% of the group, while SMG will take the remaining 46%.^[1] However, the deal is once again rejected at the end of February.
• 12 April – SMG Group plc announce plans to sell Virgin Radio, to enable the company to focus on its television station, STV.^[2]
• 3 May – Television coverage of the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.
• 7 June – The long-running Scottish Six debate over a separate BBC Six O'Clock News bulletin for Scotland is reignited after the Scottish National Party's Pete Wishart writes to the BBC Director General Mark Thompson calling for a Scottish news programme to be introduced.^[3]
• 18 July – It is announced that the Scottish Premier League has signed a deal with BBC Scotland for non-exclusive television coverage of the league.^[4]
• August – The Scottish Government establishes the Scottish Broadcasting Commission to oversee television production and broadcasting in Scotland.^[5]
• 31 August – STV celebrates fifty years on air.
• 20 September – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opens the BBC Scotland's new Pacific Quay studio complex in Glasgow.^[6] At the opening ceremony BBC Director-General Mark Thompson outlines plans to increase BBC Scotland's content output.^[7]
• 26 October – Inaugural meeting of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission. Chaired by Blair Jenkins the Commission hopes to take television in Scotland "to a different level".^[8]
• 3 December – News opt-outs for Scotland during GMTV are taken over by MacMillan Media following a long-running dispute between GMTV and STV. Previously STV and Grampian had provided local news coverage during GMTV.

Debuts

ITV

• 3 December – GMTV Scotland on STV (2007–present)

Television series

• Scotsport (1957–2008)
• Reporting Scotland (1968–1983; 1984–present)
• Scotland Today (1972–2009)
• Sportscene (1975–present)
• Public Account (1976–present)
• The Beechgrove Garden (1978–present)
• North Tonight (1980–2009)
• Taggart (1983–present)
• Only an Excuse? (1993–present)
• River City (2002–present)
• Politics Now (2004–2011)
• VideoGaiden (2005–2008)
• The Adventure Show (2005–present)
• That Was The Team That Was (2006–2008)

Ending this year

• 31 December – Still Game (2002–2007)

Deaths

• 7 January – Magnus Magnusson, 79, broadcaster and presenter
• 9 February – Ian Richardson, 72, actor

References