Welsh language campaigners call for inquiry before S4C and BBC agreement is signed

Stephen Price

Welsh language campaigners have called for transparency and a Senedd inquiry before a new partnership agreement between S4C and the BBC is finalised.

Two weeks ago, S4C announced that more of its content will be visible on the BBC’s iPlayer platform.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has expressed their concern that, as the partnership agreement between S4C and the BBC is being updated, this will lead towards a dependence on the BBC and could signal the terms of the rest of the agreement.

Cymdeithas shared concerns that less original content is being created for and shown on S4C, and claim that new talent is not being developed, highlighting a recent report that showed that two thirds of S4C’s content are repeats.

In a letter to the Welsh Government’s Culture Minister and the Senedd’s Culture Committee, Cymdeithas say that the agreement between the two broadcasters has not yet been finally approved and that an inquiry is needed before that happens.

The letter states: “[W]e therefore ask you to make inquiries about its impact on the independence and sustainability of S4C as an independent broadcaster.

“We believe that there should be a delay in implementing the agreement until you have received the assurances and answers regarding the potential dangers in terms of the plurality of the broadcasting landscape in Wales together with the independence and sustainability of S4C…

“Without having seen the full details of the proposed agreement, we cannot be sure what other effects the proposed agreement between S4C and the BBC could have. We ask that you request the agreement is delayed until you have received full answers regarding all the questions raised.”

Partnership

The BBC and S4C announced plans for a new streaming partnership that will give S4C programs more visibility on BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 14 January.

As part of the new plans, S4C’s Welsh content will appear regularly on the main BBC iPlayer homepage in Wales, and S4C’s distinctive content, including dramas and live sports broadcasts, will appear on the BBC iPlayer homepage throughout the UK for the first time.

Links to S4C’s children’s services, Stwnsh and Cyw, will also be included on the BBC iPlayer Kids homepage throughout the UK for the first time, which will ensure that children’s content in Welsh is easier to find.

BBC iPlayer is the fastest growing streaming service in the UK, with over 15 million accounts viewing the service every week on average, including over 700,000 in Wales.

The new arrangement is expected to be introduced gradually from April this year, and this will mean that S4C viewers will not have to search through the BBC iPlayer channel guide to find their biggest programmes.

The final details of the agreement are currently being finalised, but S4C and the BBC have confirmed today that the main terms have now been agreed – subject to final approval by the boards of both broadcasters.

The new agreement is about to become a new cornerstone for the 44 year old partnership between S4C and the BBC.

Under the partnership, the BBC commissions the soap opera Pobol y Cwm and produces the daily news service Newyddion S4C. It also provides S4C with HD capacity for its live channel and manages the channel’s broadcast from the BBC Wales broadcast centre in BBC Wales’ Central Square office in Cardiff.

Geraint Evans, Chief Executive of S4C said: “We are very proud of the new arrangement with BBC iPlayer which is going to ensure greater visibility for S4C content – from sports and dramas to live events and content for children. And with new features such as Welsh and English subtitles, additional live streams and better personalisation, the experience for the viewer will be even richer.

“As our viewers increasingly turn to digital viewing, one of our main objectives is to ensure that S4C content is available across the platforms, and it will be great to see Welsh content get a prominent space on one of the most popular viewing platforms, as well as on our streaming service, Clic.”

Disadvantaged

While recognising that Welsh language content needs to be more readily available, Cymdeithas yr Iaith has expressed concern that this is that it is at the expense of Clic, which they say is already at a disadvantage to iPlayer.

They point out that Clic is not available on many television sets and there are advertisements during live programmes, unlike the same content on iPlayer.

Cymdeithas added that S4C’s session with the Culture Committee raises more concerns. When responding to a question about maintaining a system of putting S4C content on Clic and iPlayer, Geraint Evans, Chief Executive of S4C, stated that this is a requirement under the law, but that discussions about that are taking place with the UK Government.

On behalf of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Digital Group, Mirain Owen said: “We need transparency about these negotiations between S4C and the BBC – the public should be able to see the draft agreement before it is signed.

“Since we sent our letter calling for an inquiry, Geraint Evans and Delyth Evans (Chair of S4C) comments and the lack of questions to them about the nature of the partnership agreement between the channel and the BBC have raised questions.

“Has anyone other than S4C and the BBC seen the partnership agreement and knows what its implications are for S4C to the future?”

“It is essential to the future of S4C and the Welsh language and Welsh broadcasting as a public service that Wales is given full powers to run its own media. That is why it is important that the Senedd conducts the inquiry.”