Radio cymru can i gymru

Items related to Bore Da, Gymru. Bore Da, Gymru. Richard Rees. Publisher: Gomer Press , This specific ISBN edition is currently not available.

View all copies of this ISBN edition:. Synopsis About this title Hunangofiant y darlledwr, Richard Rees. Buy New Learn more about this copy. This is your last chance to compete in the competitionSong for Wales Mae'r llinellau wedi cau ac ni fydd eich pleidlais yn cyfri. Please do not vote. The was broadcast live on 6 March from the Pontrhydfendigaid Pavilion, Pontrhydfendigaid.

The winner was given an invitation to represent Wales at the Pan Celtic Festival. The final was hosted by former winner Elin Fflur. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Picture by S4C.

Made for Eurovision fans, by Eurovision fans, for ten years. Roedd hi'n gynhyrchiad Avanti ar gyfer S4C. Mehr ansehen. The reason for that isn't because we're generous, the reason is because we're partnering with network very often, and there's also greater appetite, I would say, noticeably in the last couple of years, from network for content that is very culturally distinctive and coming from the different nations.

So, as I say, we brought in that additional investment, we did not drive a volume target in terms of more and more hours, we deliberately focused on impact, and that is why we're able to see so many projects not only showing in Wales, but also moving to network audience as well.

As I said earlier, we can grow that. There's a limit, and I think Tim's right, there will always be some projects that are just right for audiences in Wales, but I've always believed, actually, we could be more ambitious in this space.

I don't believe that most projects can't travel, as in I believe most projects can travel and that, actually, network audiences do have an interest in culturally distinctive content, and I think we've seen that time and time again. It's fantastic to see Huw Stephens's story of art not just showing in Wales, but also showing across the network too, because these are stories that everybody should hear.

And this is why money, not hours, is critical, because, if I'm honest, we have so many—. For our commissioners, you've got so many targets and criteria, sometimes that can be challenging—if you think about all the areas within England, then you've got the nations. What I think is really critical is this point around money and impact. So, we're not trying to create success purely based on how many hours are produced; it is the quality of something and its impact.

One of the things I think we need to dispense with once and for all—and, by the way, new technology really helps with this—is any kind of sense that we make stuff that can't go on network because the quality's not quite good enough. I would say the same about news correspondents, I would say the same—. We have to be in a position where everyone is producing world-class quality content.

I think we've made real progress on that. Some of the progress—. There's not a lot produced by—. If anything, and I couldn't name anything where I would—. Rod's looking at me now, saying, 'What's he going to say?

And it's going to be on its creative merits. That's a big step change, and it's something in the BBC I think we need to—we need to get over the bridge finally on that one. And I think both parties need to get forward on that and just say, 'We're all network', in a way, but while maintaining the local relevance.

Because what is network, unless it's locally relevant? It's a construct, in some ways. It really gets down to household value. That's good, but I think what Helen's trying to say is that some of the commissions may have happened from a local network, local content basis, and therefore the production companies would be receiving that funding, whereas they could have received more had they known initially that it would have been transported to network, so I think it's about then how the production companies themselves feel they may be getting short changed in the short term.

Obviously, they'd be proud to get their stuff on network, they're not going to dispute that, but if they had been told firstly that this is a local commission and it expands into something else, that's where this—[ Inaudible. Yes, I totally take that point. What we're trying—. And there's always a bit of this; there's always a bit of—. And we want to get work made, if you know what I mean. That's the most important thing for the indies and for everyone else.

There is a cultural change going on in the BBC that, almost any project in that relation, your expectation is it is a piece of content that's not going to work for an area in Wales, it's going to work on iPlayer across the UK, it's going to work on network—you know, everyone is leaning in. And Charlotte Moore, who runs the content division now, is linked up with Rhodri in a way we've never had in the past to say, 'Okay, let's look at content in the round,' rather than, frankly, fragmenting the money up and having lots of people just kind of squirrelling away small, not-enough money to make predictions work on a UK basis.

I think you're absolutely right to raise the issue. Let's see how we go. I think there'll always be a bit of that in terms of local moneys, but we are expecting everything to be of network quality and invest appropriately.

So, dwi'n clywed y feirniadaeth, a dwi wedi ei glywed e'n uniongyrchol o nifer o aelodau o'r sector, ac, fel dwi'n dweud, dwi'n gobeithio y bydd y ffocws yma ar gyd-gomisiynu i raddau helaeth yn datrys y broblem yn y blynyddoedd i ddod.

Just to respond very specifically on that too, Bethan, if we consider what we commission in BBC Cymru Wales year on year, I would expect the expenditure on projects that are only local or national to Wales to reduce, and for projects that are jointly commissioned with network to increase. And then that will have a direct impact on the tariffs for those productions.

So, I do hear that criticism, and I've heard it directly from a number within the sector, and, as I say, I hope this focus on joint commissioning to a certain extent will resolve the problem in coming years. Mae gen i gwestiwn clou arall hefyd, sori, gan mai hwn yw'r sesiwn olaf, i Rhodri Talfan Davies. I have another quick question, if I may, as this is the final session, and it's for Rhodri Talfan Davies. You're now director of nations, and you've explained to Helen Mary Jones that perhaps spend per head in Wales is higher, but that it looks different if you compare with other figures.

Now that you're looking across the nations and the regions of England, do you think that you would come to another conclusion about Wales, and, for example, would another channel be something that you would consider for Wales, or, because of the situation of S4C, do you think that the status quo is acceptable?

That's to say, you made a statement about Wales and there was great fanfare, and then, the day after that, there was a new channel announced for Scotland, and there was a greater focus on that, of course, because there was a new channel being created there.

So, do you think, through your new role, you can carry out a more thorough assessment of the impact of an additional channel in Scotland? Wel, rwy'n cychwyn y daith yma o ran y swydd newydd o'r farn na fydd yr un ateb yn briodol ym mhob cenedl, a dwi wastad wedi meddwl hynny; mae yna densiynau, mae yna anghenion gwahanol.

Wrth gwrs, mae'n bwysig iawn i barchu pob cenedl; dydy'r ateb ddim yn mynd i fod yn union yr un fath ym mhob man. Ac mae'n drawiadol yn y ffigurau yn yr adroddiad blynyddol diwethaf yma, o ran teimlad y gynulleidfa fod y BBC yn adlewyrchu eu bywydau nhw, fod hwnnw i fyny 15 y cant blwyddyn ar flwyddyn.

A ydy hwnna'n gyd-ddigwyddiad? Felly, na, dydw i ddim yn meddwl yn strategol y byddai sianel i Gymru yn ateb i'r her sydd gennym ni yma. Dwi'n meddwl bod mwy o impact yma yng Nghymru a mwy o gyd-gynrychiadau'r rhwydwaith—dyna le mae'r gynulleidfa. Well, I start this journey in my new post with the view that no single solution will be appropriate to all nations, and I've always thought that; there are different tensions and different requirements. And of course, it's hugely important to respect every nation, but the solution or the response isn't going to be identical across the board.

I'm still of the view, as I was three years ago, that a linear English-language channel for Wales would not meet the demand in Wales.

I think, in terms of the work that we do listening to our audiences, they want to see Wales reflected on the main channels. And it's striking, in the figures in this last annual report, that, in terms of audience perception of the BBC reflecting their lives, then that's up 15 per cent year on year.

Is that a coincidence? So, no, I don't think strategically that a channel for Wales would meet the challenges that we have here. I think that there is more impact here in Wales in terms of having joint network production—that's where the audience is.

Diolch yn fawr am hynny. Roeddwn i eisiau gofyn hwnna eto i weld beth oedd y barn. John Griffiths. Thank you very much.

I did want to ask that question, just to see what your view was. I have some questions about future funding for the BBC. The BBC's currently in negotiations with UK Government for the next funding settlement, and in the past there's been criticism from the BBC of the process, in terms of it being rushed and not very open and transparent, and I know the previous director general, Tony Hall, made comments along those lines.

So, I just wonder if you might be able to give us a flavour of the current round of negotiations and whether there has been an improvement. Yes, I think there has been an improvement, John, and I'll explain what I mean by that in a second. I would also emphasise, by the way, that the stakes are high. The stakes are high in terms of whether we want to invest in public service broadcasting properly and appropriately, and, particularly post pandemic, I think we have an enormous role to play, if I can be blunt about it, in making sure that, around the nations, in Wales, we're making clear to DCMS the priority, because the things we've talked about require funding in a market that's hyperinflating, and no-one in the BBC is asking for an unreasonable settlement; we're conscious of the pressures on household income.

I think one of the things I'd say is it's not about just taking the licence fee as high as we can go. It's not, but I do think we've got to, in the wider UK and particularly within the nations, speak up for a sensible investment that grows.

So much of our money flows out of the BBC into stimulating the sector, whether it be the indie funds we've got, or the BBC Three partnership. So, where are we on the process? The specific stage we're at is DCMS—. And I think it is, by the way, to offer some reassurance, a good process, all right. That's not to say—. In all negotiations you get to a final moment where we will be at a point where you've got to agree a number, but the DCMS has asked us for a detailed submission and published a letter that said, 'These are things that we will need to see.

We'll also set out a clear vision, I think, in terms of what our role is as the BBC going forward. There will then be a period where they are analysing that data, thinking it through, talking through things, and then, after a decent period, I suspect we're going to be in a proper negotiation in the summer, or early summer.

So, that's where we are. The process is now, as to your point, live, and, if you have a view on the funding of the BBC, I would recommend making that known sooner rather than later. Okay, Tim. Diolch yn fawr for that. I'm sure as a committee we'll be discussing these matters later during this meeting and coming to a view. It has been suggested, hasn't it, that it would be more appropriate for there to be an independent body outside Government to conduct negotiations. Is that an idea that you think has merit?

It's not something I'm considering at the moment. Honestly, in terms of all the things we've got to do, in terms of audience value and seeing—. We have a fixed process to get—. I mean, there's a lot of debate on this, of course, John, in terms of funding mechanics and setting of licence fee. I think what we need to do is be ruthlessly focused on delivering value to every household I've talked about, get through this settlement because we have a structure, we have a charter, and the licence fee is efficient.

The big question for all of us is, 'Do we want a universally funded intervention here? We have our work cut out, and, for , the licence fee is set. I think, in terms of how the process works and all future optionality, there will be a moment well before when we discuss that, we get into it, and I'm sure all options will be considered.

You know what I'm saying here—I'd rather not get drawn on the ins and outs of that too early, because I don't think it's the real priority in hand. So, I look forward to having that conversation and, clearly, we've been a supporter of a transparent process and I think it's the right thing to do. We've moved a long way to that; how far we go beyond that in the future, I'll leave to another day.

I wonder if I could move on, then, to some of the likely consequences if the licence fee settlement was to decline in real terms. Obviously, it's crystal ball gazing to some extent, but, in terms of Wales and services for Wales and services from Wales, what would be the likely consequences if there was that decline in real terms?

It is too early to say that. I'm certainly not going to speculate on that. I think what I would say is if you look at the priorities of the BBC, they're very clear, and I set them out right at the top of this meeting, which are ensuring we have good national services supporting elements like the Welsh language—the creative industries in Wales come pretty far up my priority list.

I wouldn't say more than that. I think it gets a little bit underneath that, which is how much money we've got to—. Some of the discussions we've had about how much original programming we can fund, the kind of investment we can put in, new areas where we see—.

I'm not talking about expansionism here, but I'm talking about the migration to online. All those things become very challenged in terms of—. We are not sitting solely in a UK market anymore, in a Wales market; we're sitting in a global market, and I don't think the BBC will be looking for anything unreasonable.

But to ensure we've got the right investment in the creative economy is definitely the right decision. So, I think—and I want to be confident about this—there's a really good case for sensible investment in the BBC. I really believe that, and I think the proven case here is not just about societal value and household value; it's about the creative economy.

I feel very passionately about this, which is that we have a curious ecosystem here of public and private enterprise, and it's worked incredibly well for us as the UK.

It is not a coincidence that, when we look at the Golden Globes, we look at other things where we're doing well as the UK, see Welsh talent and Welsh producers coming back from Hollywood to work here. This is not a coincidence. We need to invest in it. Is it possible for you to say anything about how that might translate to Wales, how that might affect Wales—so, network content made in Wales, local content for Welsh audiences and, indeed, for the workforce in Wales?

Rhodri can describe exactly where we are in terms of that. I can do it as well, but in terms of exactly where we are with regard to current staffing in Wales, we haven't got any further plans for cuts at the moment. The efficiencies we look for, John—. By the way, everything I do is trying to get costs that we don't need, overheads—. It's enormous, and I still think we get a hangover of just how bureaucratic the BBC is.

I would urge everyone to look at the reports: the Deloitte report on the value we're delivering, the external—don't take my word for it—benchmarking of our costs. We're really trying to work on not taking anything away from audiences. We are having to reduce our headcount a bit, but we're doing it in a way that we're trying to get efficiency at all points.

Obviously, it depends where the funding settlement goes. In the short term, we have made the savings we need to make and we're progressing on that basis, so hopefully we're in a pretty good position and we can keep the investment, but, again, we get back to the earlier conversation of five minutes ago. Rhod, anything you want to add to that? About six months ago, I think, we published a statement in terms of where we are with the particular funding challenges in this period.

I mean, we've been focused on efficiency for years. Clearly, with Central Square, we reduced the workforce by about 60 or 70 staff, given the level of technology investment that was going into the business, but, as a result of those additional COVID-related savings, we closed 80 posts and opened 20, so a net reduction of We're pretty much through that process.

About two thirds of those job reductions are down to voluntary redundancies rather than compulsories, and wherever possible we've protected on-air spend. So, just to bring that to life, that commitment we made three years ago to ensure that our direct tv spend was up 50 per cent on where it was previously, we've hung on to that, so we have protected as far as possible our content investment, but it's tight, and it's right it's tight.

So, I think we're in a good place. We've protected our news output. We've seen no significant content reductions. But it's a situation that every division across the BBC has faced, and in COVID, given the squeeze on every organisation, be it public or commercial, you get on with it, because it is tough on everybody at the moment. Can I just make one other small point, Chair, very quickly? The other area we're trying to protect, of course, is sports investment, within reason, and I would put the Six Nations and making sure the extraordinary audiences, by the way, we saw on free-to-air—.

I mean, it was 64 per cent, Rhodri, of the whole Welsh population watching that game. We also want to protect those investments. Now, we're having to play it smart, so sharing with ITV, working our way through and ensuring that we can be competitive in that, because there are big pay providers out there, but it's utterly critical in my mind.

There is a limit to our budget, and, again, your support is important here, but it is utterly critical that we protect things like that, because that's where audiences get value from the BBC. So, that is of priority importance, that we can bring those big events. So, they're the other priorities for us. But, no, we're in a situation where we can invest, but the situation honestly gets really tough, going back to your earlier questioning, if the shape changes radically in this settlement.

Diolch, John Griffiths. Mae'n rhaid i ni symud ymlaen. Dwi'n gwybod, Tim Davie, fod yn rhaid i chi adael cyn hir, ond mae yna gwestiynau olaf gan Carwyn Jones, felly pe byddai'n iawn i chi aros jest ar gyfer y cwestiynau ar COVID a'r pandemig, byddwn i'n gwerthfawrogi hynny'n fawr. Carwyn Jones. Thank you, John Griffiths. We have to move on. I know, Tim Davie, you have to leave us soon, but we have some final questions from Carwyn Jones, so if you could just stay for those questions on COVID and the pandemic, I'd be very grateful.

Tim, given your time constraints, if I could ask you one question first, and that is to do with news coverage during the course of the pandemic and the discovery by some in network that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland exist, in terms of having their own Governments. It has improved, certainly; we've seen news programmes now where it is made clear that there are different policies in different Governments in different parts of the UK.

We still have the odd quirk. I suppose my question is this. I think BBC network has learned a lot over the past few months and we have seen the fruit of that learning. Will that continue in the future?

Will that understanding that not all power sits in Westminster in the UK persist in the future, so we have network news coverage that reflects the reality of devolution?

I pretty much agree with every word of your analysis, in terms of—. I do think that we keep improving.

I think we can be very proud of our efforts. I think the first phase of a pandemic—and this as well, if you talk about stretch on news teams, just delivering the thing—. If you remember, early on, there was a lot of confusion. There were different people saying different things. It wasn't just the BBC that was maybe not getting its sentences perfect.

In fact, I think that we were doing very well, although we could improve—and thank you for your comments, because it has been a big topic, for what it's worth, at the top level of the BBC.

You have got a Welshman now at the top of the BBC, and the voices at the top of the newsroom—. It has been a major, major discussion, and I think that we can be very proud of our efforts in terms of balancing out the messages now, in very tough circumstances. So, thank you for that. Look, I think that the proof is in the pudding in the future, isn't it?

The risks of us snapping back to the old world are always there, but I'm optimistic. I think that this has been a major moment for many people across the UK to really understand devolved decision making and the importance of it, the significance of it, and making sure that we have got—.

Also, frankly, within programming, it's how you deal with—. I mean, this is tough for the editor of the six and the 10, to just get through this in a way that really does justice to every nation.

I think that the grammar of a television briefing in network has changed forever. So, I am optimistic. I think it's changed. I think we are learning.

I think we can be proud of our efforts. You are right to issue the challenge, and let's see how we do. But, I think that things have changed forever, is the answer to your question. Nawr, mae hynny'n swnio fel rhywbeth i gapeli. I remain unconvinced why Dyfrig is here. He has presence for sure. What we really need from him is a new Topper album. The whistling bit is really annoying. The song builds up. This is interesting. The geeks are right — Dyfrig is a good choice to sing. I take it back failed again he is not a prostitute.

This one is a grower. Give em a job! Griff is intelligent and obvioulsly a good pundit. He has authority but is also very diplomatic, maybe he is a nice bloke, but none of these judges are challenging the acts at all so far ……. Things could be livened up with a loose cannon, if there is one out there.

S4C have decided to broadcast twitter feeds during the programme just to show they have embraced the Digital Age. Some of the comments are far more interesting than those of the judges. I am truly surprised. Now Alun is well known as a member of Y Niwl , our very own Welsh Language instrumentalists, darlings of the press, the trydarati and your Andy Votel born-again- Welsh types.

The guitar jingles, the chorus is catchy but Tan Lan should have grabbed Dyfrig Topper and asked him to remain on stage and sing the song. This is why Y Niwl are instrumentalists, Alun is not a vocalist.

Alun is another competitor with past Can i Gymru history, again all a bit strange why they want to take part in something like this. Next up is certainly the most unusual song and the most unusual performer in the competition. You sense that there may well be something here but this is unfocused and a case of on the telly far too soon. You can see that S4C have gone for the more interesting stuff, I would rather watch this act than the Elton piano bashers of yesteryear. They will have to work hard and stick at it.