S4C funding: long-term certainty and devolution needed

 

Language campaigners have welcomed the news that there will be no cuts to S4C's funding from the television licence fee.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg has called for a long-term funding formula as well as devolving broadcasting to Wales. The Conservative Party's 2015 general election manifesto promised to 'safeguard' S4C's funding.

Curon Wyn Davies, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith's digital group, said:

“It's good news, but the world's only Welsh language channel needs more than one year's certainty. The Conservatives promised to protect the channel's funding, so the BBC were expected to stick to that. However, what S4C really needs now is long-term financial certainty – there should be a statutory funding formula, that increases, at a minimum, with inflation. Broadcasting also needs to be devolved to Wales so that Welsh language broadcasting can expand to more platforms. S4C has been a cornerstone of the Welsh language over the past decades, and it's vital that it has the resources, the certainty and the independence it needs in order to develop.”