Broadcasting Act 1990

57 Function and duties of Welsh Authority. U.K.

(1) The function of the Welsh Authority shall be to provide a television broadcasting service of high quality for reception wholly or mainly in Wales to be known as Sianel Pedwar Cymru (or S4C); and in this Part references to S4C are references to that service.

[F1 (1A) The Welsh Authority shall also have power—

(a) (subject to and in accordance with Part I of the Broadcasting Act 1996) to provide a further service as a qualifying service (within the meaning of that Part), and to arrange for the broadcasting of that service in digital form, and

(b) to establish qualifying companies, to purchase or otherwise acquire shares, stocks or other securities of qualifying companies and to assist any qualifying company.

(1B) In subsection (1A)(b) “qualifying company” means any company (whether incorporated under the law of the United Kingdom or of any other country) which is or will be wholly or mainly engaged in one or more of the following activities—

(a) the provision of one or more services which are licensed by the Commission or by the Radio Authority or which, if provided in the United Kingdom, would be required to be so licensed,

(b) activities incidental to such provision, and

(c) the holding of shares in any other company which is wholly or mainly engaged in such provision or in activities incidental to such provision.]

(2) It shall be the duty of the Welsh Authority—

(a) to provide S4C as a public service for disseminating information, education and entertainment;

(b) to ensure that a substantial proportion of the programmes broadcast on S4C are in Welsh and that the programmes broadcast on S4C between 6.30 pm and 10 pm consist mainly of programmes in Welsh; and

(c) to ensure that the programmes in Welsh which are broadcast on S4C maintain—

(i) a high general standard in all respects (and, in particular, in respect of their content and quality), and

(ii) a wide range in their subject matter, having regard both to the programmes as a whole and also to the days of the week on which, and the times of the day at which, the programmes are broadcast.

(3) The Welsh Authority shall secure that, during any period allocated by them to the broadcasting of a programme not in Welsh, the programme broadcast by them on S4C is normally a programme which is being, has been or is to be broadcast on Channel 4.

(4) The Welsh Authority may use part of the signals carrying S4C to provide—

(a) subtitling in connection with programmes on S4C, and

(b) other services which are ancillary to such programmes and directly related to their contents;

and in this subsection “subtitling” means any subtitling provided by means of a teletext service.

(5) In this section and section 58 “programme” does not include an advertisement.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 57(1A)(1B) inserted (1.10.1996) by 1996 c. 55, s. 84(3) (with s. 43(1)(6)); S.I. 1996/2120, art. 4, Sch. 1

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 57(1A)(a) applied (1.10.1996) by 1996 c. 55, s. 84(3) (with s. 43(1)(6)); S.I. 1996/2120, art. 4, Sch. 1

C2 S. 57(4) applied (1.10.1996) by 1996 c. 55, s. 29(2) (with s. 43(1)(6)); S.I. 1996/2120, art. 4, Sch. 1