1998 in Scottish television

Events

May

• 31 May – Sky Scottish closes after just over eighteen months on air, because the channel fails to meet its financial targets.

July

• 29 July – British Digital Broadcasting rebrand as ONdigital.

September

• 23 September – BBC Choice, the UK's first digital-only TV station, launches. The channel broadcasts around two hours each night of programming for Scotland as an opt-out from the main channel.

October

• 1 October – Digital satellite television launches in the UK, operated by Sky Digital. This sees the start of UK channels transmitting in 16:9 widescreen.

December

• 11 December – BBC governors reject a request to give Scotland its own Six O'Clock News bulletin. Instead an extra £20m will be spent on new jobs and programming in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Debuts

BBC

• Unknown – Looking After Jo Jo (1998)

Television series

• Scotsport (1957–2008)
• Reporting Scotland (1968–1983; 1984–present)
• Scotland Today (1972–2009)
• Sportscene (1975–present)
• The Beechgrove Garden (1978–present)
• Grampian Today (1980–2009)
• High Road (1980–2003)
• Taggart (1983–2010)
• Crossfire (1984–2004)
• Wheel of Fortune (1988–2001)
• Fun House (1989–1999)
• Win, Lose or Draw (1990–2004)
• Machair (1993–1999)
• Telefios (1993–2000)
• Only an Excuse? (1993–2020)

Ending this year

• 15 July – Top Club (1971–1998)
• 7 December – McCallum (1995–1998)
• 24 December – The Baldy Man (1995–1998)

References

References

1. (1998-04-08). "Scots Sky Shuts". The Times.
2. (24 September 1998). "No-one gets the Choice BBC launches new channel". The Herald.
3. (11 December 1998). "BBC rejects Scottish Six". BBC News.
4. (17 November 2016). "BBC Sport in Black and White". Springer.
5. (6 August 2025). "Sportscene at 50: Famous faces back for anniversary".
6. (13 February 2020). "Performing Scottishness: Enactment and National Identities". Springer Nature.
7. (14 October 2016). "Contemporary British Television Crime Drama: Cops on the Box". Taylor & Francis.
8. (9 March 2016). "Affective Landscapes in Literature, Art and Everyday Life: Memory, Place and the Senses". Routledge.
9. "Hogmanay favourite Only an Excuse says cheerio. What did you think?".