MNE MEDIA has announced the appointment of MARGOT MCCUAIG as it's Editor, to head the company's sports programming for the new Gaelic digital channel, BBC ALBA.
As part of a major four year deal funded by MG ALBA, MNE Media will deliver over sixty outside broadcast sports events a year including over the next two years, near-live full coverage of 76 football matches from the Scottish Premier League - the fir
st being the Hearts v Inverness Caley game at Tynecastle on Saturday the 20th September.
Other coverage will include live transmissions of a Scottish Football ALBA Challenge Cup semi-final game on October 12th and the ALBA Challenge Cup Final on November 16th.
"I'm delighted to be joining MNE at a very exciting and challenging time." said Margot " MNE has a reputation for excellent and innovative programming making in Scotland and across the world, and we have a wide range of sports we want to cover to give the BBC ALBA viewers access to high quality coverage of sport in Scotland that has not been available to them in the past.
"We are having very positive talks with the Scottish Rugby Union at present and with the Camanachd Association, and other sports will follow in due course.
"This will all be housed in a unique 'Home of Sport' which viewers will get to see for the first time when they tune in on Saturday the 20th September at 7.30pm.
"This will be preceded by a one hour round up of the SPL season so far at 6.30pm. Fans will also have their say, including First Minister Alex Salmond who will give his fanzone thoughts in the first programme".
Since 2004, Margot McCuaig, who has strong family connections with Rathlin Island off the coast of Northern Ireland, has been a TV Producer and Reporter with Setanta Sport, producing live and recorded programming on its Celtic Club Channel.
Previous to that she was a Producer and Presenter with Celtic Media Ltd, and Museum Project Director with Celtic plc.
She is also wrote and produced "A Bhoys Life" – a documentary on the life of Celtic and Scotland International, Jimmy Johnstone, and more recently completed a project to write and produce a series of five DVD's featuring a comprehensive social history of Celtic Football Club. Outside of football, Penguin Scotland enthusiastically received her first literary fiction, The Elizabeth and Mary Chain, and she is currently working on her second novel, Stupid Girl.
Margot has a BA Honours in History and Politics from Strathclyde University and an MPhil in Social History from the University of Glasgow.
"We are extremely pleased to have someone of Margot's calibre and experience heading up our new Sports department," said Managing Director of MNE Media, Allan MacDonald.
"I'm sure our sports productions will make a big impact on viewers across Scotland, who will see BBC ALBA as a natural home for their sporting interests and will be drawn to it whether they speak Gaelic or not, and I know Margot has innovative and exciting ideas for their sporting entertainment in the future".
