Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Deferred
Paragraph: 31
Develop digital platforms to enhance prominence of Welsh content and report progress by March 2024.
Recommendation
Public service broadcasters must modernise to survive in the digital age. We welcome the investment by PSBs in their digital platforms, which is needed given the growing proportion of people in Wales using them to watch PSB programmes. However, accessing Welsh content is not straightforward on these platforms, making it difficult for it to be viewed in Wales and across the UK. We call on public sector broadcasters to urgently develop their digital platforms to improve their level of online personalisation and ensure that programmes local to Wales and Welsh language content are prominent and easy to access. We call on public secrvice broadcasters to urgently develop their digital platforms to improve their level of online personalisation and ensure that programmes local to Wales and Welsh language content are prominent and easy to access. We request that public service broadcasters report to us by March 2024 on their progress in this area.
Government Response Summary
The government announces a review of the licence fee funding model to ensure fairness and sustainability for the BBC and S4C, including funding for Welsh language broadcasting, but does not address the recommendation for public service broadcasters to develop their digital platforms for Welsh content or report on progress.
Paragraph Reference:
31
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government is committed to the licence fee for the rest of the current Charter. However, we are seeing a rapidly changing media landscape with more ways for audiences to watch content than ever, and traditional broadcast channels declining. The number of licence fee payers is declining, with an increasingly competitive media landscape. We want to ensure that the BBC and S4C are fit for the present and whatever the future holds. The Government is therefore launching a review of the licence fee funding model, to ensure it is fair to licence fee payers, sustainable for the long term, and supports the BBC and S4C’s vital roles in growing our thriving creative industries. The review will also consider the funding arrangements of Welsh and other Minority Language Broadcasting provided by the BBC. The Government has made clear it supports Welsh language broadcasting and wants to see it succeed long into the future. The review, which is being led by DCMS, will fully take this into account.