Wales 'diminished' by inadequate broadcasting, warns report

"Inadequate" broadcasting diminishes Wales leaving its citizens less well-informed about the political structures governing their lives, a report has warned.

The Senedd's culture committee says the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 should spend more in Wales on programmes for UK audiences and improve coverage of devolved matters.

The committee repeats its previous demand for the BBC to increase spending on English-language television programming in Wales until it "approaches parity" with such spending in Scotland.

The BBC said its Wales-related content had achieved "real success in recent years", Channel 4 said its spending in Wales had increased 275% in a decade.

ITV has been asked to respond to the report.

The committee also says Welsh language television channel S4C should receive increased funding and the BBC's budget should at least keep pace with inflation.

In the foreword to the report Delyth Jewell, the Plaid Cymru Senedd member who chairs the committee, says media content in Wales remains "inadequate".

She says this "diminishes Wales on a civic and democratic level, as people cannot see themselves on their screens" and leaves citizens "less well-informed about the political structures that govern their lives".

Jewell criticises Ofcom's regulation of the media as something which "seems designed to maintain the status quo".

Meanwhile "the BBC and S4C are dealing with long-term funding cuts, whilst ITV does not seem to see increasing content for Wales as being in their shareholders' interests", she says.

Jewell urges UK ministers to "take responsibility for driving meaningful improvements in media content for Wales, rather than managing the current state of inadequacy".

The report says the BBC spent £31m on English language TV content in Wales in 2024-25.

That compared with £76m in Scotland, including on a separate BBC Scotland channel of which there is no equivalent in Wales.

In a letter to BBC bosses, contained in the report, Jewel says: "We do not think that the fact that Scotland has a population 74% larger than Wales justifies the BBC spending over 100 per cent more on content for local content in Scotland than Wales.

"Wales has the same breadth of devolved political institutions as Scotland, which require the same journalistic coverage, regardless of population size."

The report recommends "the BBC's spend on English-language television content in Wales should grow year-on-year until it approaches parity with the BBC's spend on English language content in Scotland".

The committee urges ITV to "develop a strategy, with targets, to increase its network spend in Wales", meaning money for making programmes for a UK audience.

The commercial broadcaster should also "increase its spend on content for Wales, and have a strategy to do so consistently across the rest of its licence period", says the culture committee.

Writing to ITV, Jewell refers to 2024 figures from media regulator Ofcom stating that "ITV's network spend in Wales was 0.8% of the UK total" which "was a slight increase from 2022 when the figure was close to 0".

"We remain of the view that ITV's network spend in Wales is unacceptably low," she said, adding an appearance before the committee by senior figures from the channel had "not reassured" Senedd members "that ITV has a meaningful plan to increase it".

The report notes what it calls the "positive impact of the steps" Channel 4 had made "to develop a presence in Cardiff", urging the broadcaster to establish what it calls a "Welsh hub" and to "develop a specific strategy, with clear targets, to increase its network spend in Wales".

The report urges all UK network news providers to "keep driving improvements in their reporting of devolved policy issues".

The BBC is currently negotiating with the UK government about its future, and that of the licence fee which provides most of its funding, ahead of the renewal of its royal charter at the end of 2027.

The culture committee says its view is that "universal access" to BBC services "remains central", that BBC funding should at least keep pace with inflation.

The committee says Welsh language television channel S4C, also funded by the licence fee, should receive increased, guaranteed funding to reflect past cuts and rising digital costs.

It says both broadcasters should continue to be funded through a "universal mechanism", the licence fee or some other payment system applying to all households with exceptions "for those who are unable to pay".

A BBC spokesperson said: "In terms of TV content, there has been real success in recent years, with viewing of Wales-related content on BBC iPlayer up 140%.

"And there are exciting changes ahead, with Casualty, for example soon to be set in a Welsh hospital as we build on our commitment to portray stories that reflect the nation.

"We'll keep building on that success, despite financial pressures with a clear focus of delivering for our audiences in Wales."

Channel 4 said: "We have committed to increasing main channel content spend and programme hours outside England from 9% to 12% by 2028, two years ahead of Ofcom's requirement and our spend in Wales reached £15m in 2024, an increase of 275% from a decade previously.

"We have strengthened our support for Welsh indies by introducing dedicated Lead Commissioning Editors to deepen relationships and improve access to commissioners."

S4C said: "S4C welcomes the committee's continued support for the future of public service broadcasting in Wales – and values the cross‑party support to secure sufficient and sustainable funding for S4C.

"This is essential in enabling S4C to reach and grow audiences across platforms, continue to innovate, and support the creative economy across Wales.

"This week, S4C has published its response to the BBC Charter Review, highlighting the need for long‑term financial certainty beyond March 2028, funding arrangements that keep pace with inflation, and a strong and fair partnership with the BBC that secures a stable future for S4C."

An Ofcom spokesperson said: "We were grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the culture committee's work earlier this year, and we'll now carefully consider their recommendations before providing a formal response in due course."

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the UK government "recognises the strength of the Welsh media sector and is committed to fostering its growth and innovation".

Calling the BBC Charter Review a "defining moment", a spokesperson said "we want to ensure people in all communities, including Wales, are reflected and represented within BBC and S4C content".

"Options for supporting sustainable funding for minority language broadcasting are being considered," they added.