Spurious Plaid Campaign

Plaid Cymru are running a spurious campaign about the future of S4C.

OFCOM has outlined 3 options for S4C's future, and one of these is being tagged by Plaid Cymru as the privatisation of S4C. OFCOM has yet to say which of the options (merging S4C into the BBC; allowing companies to bid for the £86 million which S4C gets from the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport; or the status quo) it favours.

Plaid see S4C as 'their' channel, despite the fact that it was a coalition of campaigners from all parties that ultimately brought it about. The campaign had been driven forward by Cymdeithas Yr Iaith since the 1970s. While Plaid like to pretend that they and Cymdeithas are the same organisation, that is not of course the case.

As I have said before, we need to protect S4C's budget, its brand and ensure that we retain a strong Welsh-language broadcaster. But S4C needs to work more closely with others, not least the BBC with its excellent online Cymru'r Byd site, and BBC Radio Cymru.