The S4C Authority has today (Tuesday, 10 July) presented its Annual Report & Statement of Accounts for 2006 to Parliament.
S4C Chair, John Walter Jones, said: "The year saw a number of important changes as S4C continued to prepare for digital switchover. The emphasis of the S4C Programme Strategy on creative excellence continued to bear fruit, with the viewing figures underlining this.”
Mr Jones said that potentially one of the most far-reaching changes approved by the Authority was the intention to revise children's services and establish a new channel to meet their needs. The proposals for a new children’s channel is currently out to public consultation.
S4C’s preparation for digital switchover continued under the leadership of S4C Chief Executive, Iona Jones, with S4C extending the availability of its programmes to a range of digital platforms.
In 2006, there were a number of key organisational changes, which included the establishing of due separation between the Authority and the S4C executive, led by a new Board of Directors. In addition, S4C and the BBC signed a strategic partnership agreement which means that the BBC's contribution to programming in the future will be integrated into S4C's programme strategy.
Programme highlights included large scale events, with over 1.2 million individual viewers tuning in to S4C’s coverage of the summer festivals. Another landmark event was the world-record-breaking Jones, Jones, Jones concert at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre in November.
The presentation of the S4C Annual Report & Accounts to Parliament is a statutory requirement under the 1990 Broadcasting Act.
The 2006 Report is available on-line, www.s4c.co.uk/annualreport2006 and can be downloaded in PDF form. Hard copies are available on request.
For further information, please contact Gwydion Lyn or Owain Pennar at the S4C Press Office, 029 20 741452 or 20741416.
