Broadcasting is different in Wales from the rest of the UK. The things that interest us are different. We watch a different mix of sporting fixtures. Our mix of languages is different. Our geography is different, with deep valleys making it difficult to broadcast a clear television or radio signal either in analogue or digital. Our political structure is different, with unitary local authorities and a national assembly with responsibility for many of the issues that most directly affect voters. We get more worried about sex, violence and swearing on television than most. And Wales is far from homogenous. Wrexham looks east every bit as much as it looks to Cardiff. Pontypridd has a very different outlook from Rhyl or Carmathen or Abergavenny – and has different broadcasting needs.
The statistics are striking:
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We in Wales have the highest percentage of households who have already gone digital of any region in the country (82% and rising compared to 76% nationally).
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Although we constitute only 5% of the UK population, we have 20% of the UK’s transmitters, a total of 213 main and relay sites.
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We have less analogue TV choice than elsewhere, with Five only available to 20% of the population.
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We spend considerably more on programming (including S4C) per head than anywhere else - £36.85 (£24.34 on S4C programme spend, £4.30 on ITV and £8.20 on BBC) compared to £3.90 in England. There are good reasons for this – but it is markedly different.
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We have the lowest availability of cable (23%) and Freeview (57%) in the country and even after digital switchover we shall only achieve coverage for the three public service DTT multiplexes (rather than all six) for 97.7% of households.
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We have the smallest degree of choice in commercial radio in the UK.
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We have a large number of overlap households, where Welsh households either deliberately or by default watch England television – 15% of these households watch only or mostly England channels (30% in Wrexham). With digital this will change, but not for Freeview users who receive their signal via an aerial that is pointing towards an English transmitter.
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We watch more non-PSB channels (i.e. not BBC, ITV, S4C, Channel 4 and Five) than the rest of the country.
All of this means that Wales presently enjoys a very varied broadcast diet, with strong public service broadcasters supplemented by Sky and Virgin Media and a wide range of other commercial channels. There are challenges ahead though, both for public policy makers looking at the switch to digital – especially those who are concerned about the most deprived communities – and for the broadcasters in Wales.
Selective Welsh TV Audiences 2006/07
Programme |
Channel |
Audience |
Wales vs Japan (Rugby World Cup) |
ITV Wales |
416,000 |
Scrum V Live: Wales vs Canada |
BBC2W |
331,000 |
Wales Today at 6.30pm |
BBC1 Wales |
277,000 down from 320,000 in 2003 |
Party for Pudsey |
BBC1 Wales |
258,000 |
Fishlock's Wild Tracks |
ITV Wales |
254,000 |
Wales This Week |
ITV Wales |
253,000 |
Wales today at 10.26pm |
BBC 1 Wales |
224,000 |
Helicops |
ITV Wales |
207,000 |
The Ferret |
ITV Wales |
204,000 |
Coming Home |
BBC1 Wales |
193,000 |
Wales vs Argentina on Y Clwb Rygbi |
S4C |
191,000 |
High Hopes Special |
BBC1 Wales |
186,000 |
Wales Tonight (6:00pm) |
ITV Wales |
185,000 |
Shirley Bassey at Faenol |
BBC1 Wales |
183,000 |
Iolo's Welsh Safari |
BBC1 Wales |
168,000 |
X-Ray (2006 series) |
BBC1 Wales |
147,000 |
Scrum V Live (2006) |
BBC2W |
130,000 |
Big Brother |
S4C |
87,000 |
Pobol y Cwm (weds/Sun) |
S4C |
86,000 |
Dragon's Eye |
BBC1 Wales repeated BBC2W |
80,000 up from 60,000 in 2003 |
Relocation, Relocation |
S4C |
76,000 |
Y Clwb Rygbi |
S4C |
71,000 |
Eisteddfod 2006: Katherine Jenkins |
S4C |
57,000 |
Countdown |
S4C |
54,000 |
Am:pm |
BBC2 W |
10,000 |
Am:pm BBC2 W 10,000 I'm surprised it even gets 10,000 hits. it's so dull.
Chris Williams, Cymmer, Rhondda 2007-10-29 14:00:33
With regards to the 82% with access to digital tv - does this mean that they have a satellite dish, or access to digital via a digibox, or just own a digital-ready tv? Personally, I wouldn't mind spending £20 on a digibox for my older tvs, and already have one digi-ready tv, but unfortunately free-to air digital is not presently available in my area. I appreciate that I may be able to pick up digital tv channels through a satellit dish, but as well as being quite costly (about £100 I understand) I am reluctant to bolt a satellite dish to the side of my house. When is it envisaged that a free-to-air digital signal will be available to all of the people of Wales who, like me, don't wish to pay for a satellite dish?
huw jones, caernarfon 2007-10-29 14:22:44
I wasn intrigued by your comment that "We spend considerably more on programming (including S4C) per head than anywhere else - £36.85 (£24.34 on S4C programme spend, £4.30 on ITV and £8.20 on BBC) compared to £3.90 in England. There are good reasons for this – but it is markedly different." Who are "we" in that sentence? I don't personally spend any more than someone in Chester on the BBC, ITV or S4C. If you're talking about the cost of BBC Wales per head as opposed to the BBC generally per head, then you need to back that up with figures. As for S4C, that amounts to £72m a year - or £17,000 per programme hour. This is cheaper than the BBC average.
Joe Davies, Ebbw Vale 2007-10-29 18:14:59
Once again the people of Wales are being swindled as talk of the digital switchover promises extra channels. The Government and you Chris should emphasis at EVERY opportunity that what we are being offered in most of Wales is HALF FREEVIEW i.e just the psb channels and not film 4 or More 4 etc. and probably not even channel Five (we will however get teletext holidays so that will make up for any shortfall!). Our licence fee money is being totally wasted by the BBC on Freeview as most people in Wales will (or have already) installed a satellite dish not because we are tech savvy, as OFCOM like to portray, but because we have never been able to get a decent terrestrial signal. I'm sure if more people knew how shortchanged we will be after switchover no MP will be safe in their seats , unless he/she speaks up now to warn their constituents. As you have pointed out Chris we suffer in Wales through a lack of commercial radio broadcasters. For this reason the Heads of the Valleys (which includes your constituency) will probably not get a DAB multiplex even though OFCOM have a frequency available. The rest of Wales will have local DAB by 2009 except the heavily populated Heads of the Valleys area. This means no digital radio for Radio Wales or Radio Cymru unless you listen on satellite. Digital One have no plans to invest in the area with their stations i.e Classic FM or talkSport etc. and the BBC are severely dragging their feet about setting up their national station multiplexes. We have a totally impotenet Audience Council for Wales who have as much influence over the BBC Trust as Arthur Scargill had over Margaret Thatcher, judge them by the results you can see in areas like the Valleys. Radio Wales is not on fm in large areas of the Valleys despite there being frequencies allocated a long time ago and the Welsh Assembly to their credit asked the BBC to extend FM transmission of Radio Wales because of their inertia in getting DAB rolled out. There's no doubt about it we are shortchanged in Wales (particularly the Valleys) by the BBC and the situation is getting worse.
Chris Bryant, 2007-10-29 18:28:12
Huw, I meant that if you add up all the programming budgets spent within Wales it comes out as I suggest per head - these are Ofcom's figures. It's true that broadcasting costs per head can be a bit misleading as some genres are far more expensive than others and a smaller population will always lead to a higher figure. All I'm sdaying is that we can't really complain. If you add up all the licence fees in Wales they come to less than the amount spent in Wales on programming and broadcasting.
