The future of both BBC Wales and S4C will be on the agenda when First Minister Carwyn Jones meets with the Chair of the BBC Trust Lord Patten later on Thursday.
The First Minister will outline his major concerns about proposed reductions in the BBC’s services in Wales and changes to the country’s only Welsh language channel.
Speaking ahead the meeting, Mr Jones said: “I am worried that the proposed changes to the BBC are a disproportionate threat to local services in Wales. The reality is that the broadcasting choice offered to the people of Wales is pretty minimal outside those services provided by the BBC across television and radio. The BBC has a special position in Wales and is vital in informing our citizens.
“The BBC has always played a crucial role in reflecting and reinforcing the culture of Wales in both the English and Welsh languages. It would be a cruel irony if the almost immediate response to the National Assembly gaining further law-making powers is a reduction in the amount of coverage devoted to Wales on television and radio.
“I will also be reminding the Chair of the Trust of the importance we attach to their new partnership with S4C. It is imperative that the two organisations build on the new agreement they reached at the end of 2011. The BBC in Wales and nationally now has an even more important contribution to make to Welsh language broadcasting and an independent S4C in the future.”