The BBC and S4C have aligned for a new streaming partnership that delivers an enhanced presence of S4C’s programming on iPlayer.
Welsh-language content from S4C will feature regularly on the BBC iPlayer main homepage in Wales. Further, marquee S4C content, including original dramas and live sports, will now be featured on the BBC iPlayer homepage across the U.K. for the first time. In addition, iPlayer U.K. users will see links to S4C’s children’s services, Stwnsh and Cyw, on the BBC iPlayer Kids homepage. The changes kick in beginning in April as the details of the agreement are finalized, pending approval by both boards.
“We’re delighted to secure a new arrangement with BBC iPlayer, which will ensure greater prominence for S4C content—from sport and drama to live events and children’s programming,” commented S4C’s chief executive, Geraint Evans. “And with new features such as Welsh- and English-language subtitles, additional live streams and improved personalization, the viewing experience will be richer than ever. As our audiences increasingly turn to digital viewing, one of our main objectives is to ensure that S4C content is available across platforms, and it will be great to see Welsh-language content given a prominent place on one of the most popular viewing platforms, in addition to S4C’s streaming service, Clic.”
Garmon Rhys, interim director of BBC Cymru Wales, said: “This agreement further strengthens our commitment to serving audiences in Wales and across the U.K. as they seek content on digital platforms, making it easier than ever for viewers to discover and enjoy S4C’s programming.”
The 44-year-old partnership between S4C and the BBC also includes the BBC’s commission of the soap opera Pobol y Cwm and production of the daily news service Newyddion S4C. It also provides S4C with HD capacity for its live channel and manages the channel’s broadcast playout from BBC Wales’s broadcast centre in Central Square in Cardiff.
