(Title Image: Senedd Cymru)
Culture Committee
Devolution of Broadcasting (pdf)
Published: 11th March 2021
Streaming services have been noted as a threat to traditional linear TV and radio broadcasting, though witnesses warned the committee that there was an “illusion of choice”; plenty of options, very little UK or Welsh content.
It’s also impossible for streaming services to replace the public service broadcasting remit of the likes of the BBC or S4C (with well-trodden arguments to the point of exhaustion over a lack of Welsh news and current affairs coverage).
One of the more eye-opening findings from the inquiry was that ITV only spends 0.1% of its commissioning budget in Wales compared to 8.2% by the BBC and 2.4% by Channel 4.
The Committee felt that while the value of the Channel 3 licence has diminished due to no longer having a near-monopoly on TV advertising, there was an argument in support of changing the regulation of the Channel 3 licence to require more Welsh-made output.
The committee expressed support for Wales having greater influence over licence fee decisions. However, there was a warning that as S4C is now predominantly funded via the licence fee, Wales has far more spent on it than the licence fee raises – even though a large chunk of this is spent on UK network programming (such as dramas).
The arguments for and against the devolution of broadcasting have been made several times in the Senedd during the past decade, with the Welsh Government showing no real enthusiasm for the idea. In March 2018, the Senedd rejected a motion supporting the devolution of broadcasting.
The Committee recommended that Wales should have “enhanced broadcasting responsibilities” – which perhaps shouldn’t be interpreted as a call for outright devolution; the committee only supported devolution of S4C and public service broadcasting in the Welsh language.
Other recommendations include an independent commissioning fund, a greater role for the Welsh Government in setting the terms of Channel 3 (ITV) licence and improved regulation of Welsh language radio content and also streaming services more generally (nominally by the UK Government).
