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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Broadcasting future 'looks bleak' | Broadcasting future 'looks bleak' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The future of English language TV broadcasting in Wales looks bleak, according to a director of communications regulator Ofcom. | The future of English language TV broadcasting in Wales looks bleak, according to a director of communications regulator Ofcom. |
| Rhodri Williams told the Welsh Affairs Committee that these were challenging circumstances, the like of which "we have never seen since TV began". | Rhodri Williams told the Welsh Affairs Committee that these were challenging circumstances, the like of which "we have never seen since TV began". |
| Ofcom's director in Wales added that audiences had been in decline since 1999 and were likely to fall further. | Ofcom's director in Wales added that audiences had been in decline since 1999 and were likely to fall further. |
| Broadcasters in Wales have been asked to give their reaction. | Broadcasters in Wales have been asked to give their reaction. |
| The parliamentary Welsh Affairs Select Committee was gathering evidence about the future of English language broadcasting in Wales, and interviewed several leading figures at the BBC, ITV and Welsh language channel S4C. | The parliamentary Welsh Affairs Select Committee was gathering evidence about the future of English language broadcasting in Wales, and interviewed several leading figures at the BBC, ITV and Welsh language channel S4C. |
| Asked about what audiences can expect in the future, Mr Williams said: "(Audiences) will receive less than they have in the past. | Asked about what audiences can expect in the future, Mr Williams said: "(Audiences) will receive less than they have in the past. |
| 'Slow decline' | 'Slow decline' |
| "Nineteen ninety nine was the high water of what was available in the English language, but since then there has been a slow decline and that decline has accelerated recently... by now audiences in Wales are missing out." | "Nineteen ninety nine was the high water of what was available in the English language, but since then there has been a slow decline and that decline has accelerated recently... by now audiences in Wales are missing out." |
| Mr Williams told the committee that producing content exclusively for Wales on television and radio was under threat as funding sources were "disappearing quickly". | Mr Williams told the committee that producing content exclusively for Wales on television and radio was under threat as funding sources were "disappearing quickly". |
| John Walter Jones, chairman of the S4C Authority and the Welsh language channel's chief executive Iona Jones also gave evidence to the committee. | John Walter Jones, chairman of the S4C Authority and the Welsh language channel's chief executive Iona Jones also gave evidence to the committee. |
| They were asked why, as an organisation receiving public funding, S4C was allowed to submit a report about its future plans to Ofcom confidentially. | They were asked why, as an organisation receiving public funding, S4C was allowed to submit a report about its future plans to Ofcom confidentially. |
| Both Mr Williams of Ofcom and the representatives from S4C said what they had done was within the rules. | Both Mr Williams of Ofcom and the representatives from S4C said what they had done was within the rules. |
| Cardiff South and Penarth MP Alun Michael was denied an unedited copy of the report by Mr Walter Jones. | Cardiff South and Penarth MP Alun Michael was denied an unedited copy of the report by Mr Walter Jones. |
| The pairing from S4C were also asked about the future of the Welsh language news programme, Newyddion, which is made for S4C by BBC Wales. | The pairing from S4C were also asked about the future of the Welsh language news programme, Newyddion, which is made for S4C by BBC Wales. |
| They said S4C had every right to discuss the future of Welsh language news, considering the same provider had been supplying the news for 25 years. | They said S4C had every right to discuss the future of Welsh language news, considering the same provider had been supplying the news for 25 years. |
| The committee is also speaking to Michael Jeremy, director of news, current affairs and sport at ITV, Elis Owen, ITV Wales' national director, BBC Cymru/Wales director Menna Richards, the BBC's deputy director-general Mark Byford and Clare Hudson, head of English language programmes at BBC Wales. |