SHAKE-UP AT S4C

PUBLIC funding for S4C will come entirely from the licence fee from 2022-23 as part of a package of changes for the Welshlanguage broadcaster announced today.

The UK Government’s financial contribution will end but it is adamant that responsibility for S4C will not be transferred from Westminster to the Assembly.

Welsh-language campaigners Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg warned that S4C faced “significant” realterms cuts and said the only solution is to devolve power over broadcasting to Wales.

The BBC is opposed to the decision to use the licence fee to provide all of S4C’s public funding.

In this financial year and 2019-20, S4C will receive about £81.3m, of which around £6.8m comes from the UK Government and £74.5m from the licence fee. The funding that it will receive after 2022 through the licence fee will be decided as part of the UK Government’s funding settlement negotiations with the BBC and S4C. The Culture Secretary will retain his remit to ensure S4C receives sufficient funding.

The changes follow an independent review by Euryn Ogwen Williams, S4C’s former director of programmes. The UK Government has accepted his recommendations.

As part of the overhaul of the broadcaster, S4C is expected to establish an “in-house digital hub” which will “form the basis of a Welsh language digital cluster”. The review also called for S4C to form a partnership with the Welsh Government to support its drive for there to be a million Welsh language speakers by 2050.

A further recommendation is for the S4C Authority to be replaced with a new unitary board made up of executive and non-executive directors.

Aled Powell, of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, was unimpressed by the announcements, saying: “The Westminster Government says today that they will stop their direct support to S4C – the only Welsh-language channel in the world – from 2022 onwards, and put the broadcaster’s financial position entirely in the hands of the BBC. Between now and 2022, the Government contribution is to remain the same, meaning further significant cuts in real terms to the channel, while the [Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, (DCMS)] is asking the channel to undertake new work... The Welsh Senedd must have the power and the resources to create a new broadcasting authority which will ensure the variety of media in Welsh and about Wales that our country needs.”

UK Culture Minister Margot James insisted broadcasting should remain the responsibility of the UK Government, stating: “It’s the sort of thing which brings the union together and it will remain a reserved power.”

A BBC spokeswoman set out its opposition to the entirety of public funding coming from the licence fee, stating: “The BBC continues to support the view set out by S4C last year [that] the channel and its audiences are best served by a funding model based on a plurality of funding sources. We have always believed this plurality is an important principle that should be safeguarded, not cast aside.”

S4C chairman Huw Jones was relieved the UK Government had ditched plans which would have seen the broadcaster’s income fall, saying: “The Government’s decision to reverse the cuts which had been announced during the 2015 Spending Review is an important step which will provide funding stability for S4C over the coming years to help us face the substantial challenges which lie ahead.

“We welcome the Government’s wish to secure S4C’s funding stability for the long term. Given S4C’s longstanding and valued partnership with the BBC, the recommendation that we should receive the whole of our funding from the licence fee will inevitably be a controversial step and the challenge will be to ensure three crucial principles, namely funding stability, S4C’s independence and the provision of adequate funding.”

Sian Morgan Lloyd, a lecturer at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture, warned that the broadcaster had “suffered deep cuts in recent years”.

She said: “Now there will be even greater demands for a digital and online service to be provided. Who pays for the digital hub? Who is going to fund the Welsh language partnership? S4C will be reliant on the licence fee from 2022-23 and I would be concerned at the sustainability of this income stream as the public’s viewing trends increasingly lean towards international online providers such as Netflix.

“It is vital that S4C retains editorial freedom, even as its funding becomes increasingly tied to the licence fee and therefore the BBC.”

Gareth Williams, who chairs TAC, the trade body for Welsh independent television producers, welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to maintain the current level of funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20 but described the end of the grant funding in 2022 as a “cause for concern,” saying: “We would like reassurance from the Government that from 2022-23, S4C’s total TV licence fee funding will not be less than the combined total funding which currently comes from the licence fee plus the DCMS grant, and that it will be inflation-linked.”

Suzy Davies, the Welsh Conservatives’ spokeswoman for culture and broadcasting, said: “I am delighted that the remit has been extended to allow S4C to spread its wings effectively into the digital age... I am also pleased to see the channel’s independence reinforced, allaying any residual fears about the recent closer relationship with the BBC.

“And whilst welcoming the certainty that this funding arrangement will provide, it is imperative reassurance is given that this doesn’t hide an overall reduction as a result of a loss of direct [UK Government] funding; either for S4C or BBC. It is also important that the UK Government remains bound by the statutory obligation to ensure that the channel has ‘sufficient funding’ as S4C now has the freedom to do much more as a result of these recommendations.”

The Welsh Conservatives do not want broadcasting devolved, arguing: “While the importance of the Welsh language is appreciated most here in Wales, this is an indigenous language of the UK and one of which all Britons should be proud. As such, it should be the responsibility of the whole UK public service broadcasting sector to bring it to the attention of the whole UK... We believe that devolving broadcasting would let UK broadcasters off the hook, risking even less visibility of Wales beyond our border and reduced investment in our growing creative industry sector.”

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the measures would give “certainty and security to S4C”. He insisted the new arrangements would preserve the “independence” of S4C and said the industry was not pushing for devolution of broadcasting.

The Vale of Glamorgan MP said: “This is about giving S4C the capacity to operate in a digital world so they can operate well beyond the confines and limitations which they have now.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We welcome the emphasis in the review on the important role of S4C in delivering our goal of reaching a million Welsh speakers by 2050 and will continue to work together with S4C to achieve our joint aspirations for the language.”

Plaid Cymru Ceredigion MP Ben Lake said: “Removing S4C’s direct public funding and forcing the broadcaster to rely on the licence fee, which is administered and governed by the BBC, raises serious concerns about its editorial independence and public accountability, which must be maintained at all costs.”