The BBC and S4C, the Welsh-Language public service TV broadcaster, have always had a close working relationship. Since the launch of S4C in 1982, BBC Cymru has provided a wide range of programmes and content for transmission on S4C, including news programming and Pobol y Cwm. The current arrangements are for the BBC to provide a minimum of 520 hours of programme per year. S4C’s content is also available on the BBC iPlayer. The BBC and S4C will, from 2019, co-locate and share technical broadcasting services at the new BBC Broadcasting Centre in Cardiff.
In 2013 the BBC has been responsible for providing, from the licence fee, most of the public funding for S4C. This arrangement will continue until the end of the current Royal Charter in 2028.
The BBC and S4C are, and will continue to be, independent - editorially and operationally - and have separate governance structures. However, the formal Partnership, Funding and Accountability Agreement between the broadcasters sets out at a high level the ways in which the BBC and S4C will work in together to deliver services for the benefit of Welsh-speaking audiences.