20 December 2013

S4C has unveiled new plans to work closely with advertisers and potential advertisers with the aim of transforming the way the Channel broadcasts advertisements.

The plan will mean less advertising during certain hours of the day on S4C, with no commercials at all during children’s programmes on Cyw, S4C’s dedicated service for younger children and Stwnsh programming for older children.

This new advertising scheduling during children’s programmes will start during the first quarter of 2014, with a similar experiment coming into operation during the broadcasting of the Channel’s Christmas family film Y Syrcas (The Circus) on Boxing Day.

The aim is to establish a new framework for advertising that will meet the needs of both advertisers and viewers in an effective way, and reflect the variety of viewing methods our audience uses.

S4C believes that taking this important step will put the Channel at the forefront of tackling the challenges of advertising in the digital age and will safeguard the Channel's commercial income.

S4C Chief Executive Ian Jones said:

"The challenge for broadcasters is clear – we must continue to make the most of the opportunities to sell advertising, but while doing so we must also keep in mind that the public’s viewing habits are changing.

"With more and more people watching online and recording programmes to watch at a later time following the original broadcast, TV advertising does not always enjoy the prominence it once did. So now’s the time to work closely with our advertisers and potential advertisers to find better ways of meeting their needs.

"At S4C, we recognise that this could mean fundamental changes that may well transform the industry, but we are open to all ideas. First of all, to show what our intentions are in this respect, advertising will come to an end during children’s programmes on the channel. This is in response to feedback from parents who tell us that they cause children turn to other channels. We will also experiment by not broadcasting commercials during the Christmas family film Y Syrcas. Along with these changes, we are open to experimenting with new ways of delivering advertisements in a more effective way.

"There's no point in us as a broadcaster sitting back and watching the inevitable decline in advertising revenue because of the changes in technology and the public’s viewing habits. We want to be ahead of the game and striving to break new ground in finding ways of stabilising advertising revenue in the future."