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Children’s content

S4C's Children's Service is extremely important for children and their families. We have Cyw for nursery children up to the age of 6, and Stwnsh for children aged 7-13. Every week there are 39 hours of Cyw on TV with the CywTiwb service available for the rest of the day on digital platforms. Also a variety of apps are available where it's possible to Laugh, Play and Learn with Cyw and her friends, the latest is the Byd Cyw gaming app. Stwnsh is on S4C every day between 5-6pm and from 8-10 on Saturday morning. Cyw and Stwnsh have a close connection with the audience through various shows and events.

There are 32 children's channels available in the UK and it is essential that we offer strong content that stands out and competes against the best. In general, there are two ages that are difficult for us - between 6-7 years of age when children grow out of Cyw and start to find other channels; and around 10/11 when they watch aspirational and mature content. When offering ideas, it's worth considering these two periods. Children are also very likely to watch on any platform, and watch their favorites several times; currently 50% of viewing sessions on the Welsh BBC iplayer are for children's content, with the majority being nursery children's programmes.

CYW

Children of Cyw's age enjoy good stories, strong and credible characters, adventure and of course plenty of humour. They are delighted to see other children, take part and join in the fun. Cyw has a variety of genres: drama, comedy, documentary, presenter formats, educational programmes and a variety of animations. From the children's budget, 75% of the expenditure is on original content and approximately 25% on purchases.

For this age, commissioning content that is inherently Welsh is a priority. Deian a Loli is a good example of a series that is completely original and the combination of the stories, the scary performances, the magical world and the natural dialogue have appealed to the audience. Documentary series such as Ysbyty Cyw Bach, Teulu Ni and Y Diwrnod Mawr reflect the lives of contemporary children in Wales and open their eyes to different lives.

When commissioning for Cyw, it's important to develop characters such as Ben Dant, Dona Direidi, Heulwen, Seren and Lobs - characters working on TV and also Cyw shows. Diversity is extremely important in the development of talent and we welcome applications to develop talent from diverse backgrounds. Seeing children from all ethnic backgrounds and on the screen is key. In terms of language, note that only 20% of children attending nursery in Wales have two Welsh speaking parents and 60% of the children who attend nursery have English-speaking only parents, so for a large percentage of our viewers, it is only through Cyw that they hear the Welsh language at home. There is also an opportunity to appeal to non-Welsh speaking parents and learners through the Cyw service.

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For children of Stwnsh's age, a comedy is most appealing and so there is always a chance to pitch funny content and experiment with new comedy formats. Mabinogi-ogi has recently created noise and caught audience attention. Developing comedy and new sitcoms is important so come and discuss new ideas.

Factual formats such as Y Gemau Gwyllt, Pwy Geith y Gig, and Coginio are popular - but they only work when the challenges are really difficult and credible. Factual series such as Boom!'s extreme experiments, personal problems on Llond Ceg, news on Ffeil and series such as Tag, Rygbi Pawb and Sgorio offer a variety to the audience. Individual documentary films #Fi follows strong children's stories.

So in terms of offering Stwnsh ideas there are opportunities to pitch comedy, challenging factual formats and individual documentary stories.

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