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Record year for BBC Wales - "powerhouse of exceptional output"
A year of "evolution", "commitment", "new collaborations" and "engagement with
audiences" has put BBC Wales in the strongest position ever in its 83-year
history according to figures released today.
The BBC Wales Annual Review 2005-06 - which presents a summary of the
Broadcasting Council for Wales's assessment of BBC Wales's performance for the
year - shows that spending on BBC Wales programmes has increased to record
levels.
Money invested in programmes made by BBC Wales for the BBC's UK networks leapt
to more than £50m in 2005-06, having tripled in just two years.
Professor Merfyn Jones, BBC National Governor for Wales, says: "During the year BBC Wales enhanced its reputation as a powerhouse of
exceptional output for the BBC networks.
"This considerable achievement has
changed perceptions of BBC Wales's capacity to contribute even more in coming
years, especially in the context of the BBC's intention to develop more
production outside London.
"It also builds the media industries and thus enhances the creative potential of
Wales - a very substantial contribution to the economy of Wales."
The Broadcasting Council for Wales singles out Doctor Who - which is made in
Wales by BBC Wales - saying that its "combination of heritage and
sophistication, together with the positive effect on family viewing, had been a
huge achievement for BBC Wales".
It also noted the success of the BBC Wales network productions Tribe, The Girl in the Café, Life on Mars, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, A Year at Kew and the
Emmy award-winning Broadway: The American Musical.
Other significant successes highlighted in the BBC Wales Annual Review include:
 BBC Wales television programmes made for audiences in Wales again out-performed
the network programmes they replaced on BBC ONE Wales and BBC TWO Wales. Wales
Today continued to have more than double the audience of ITV 1 Wales News;
BBC Wales Welsh language television programmes continued to be the most-watched
on S4C;
The number of people listening to the Welsh language service BBC Radio Cymru rose for the second year running. The number of younger listeners to Radio
Cymru has risen by 50 per cent over the last decade. The most recently
published figures showed that more people were listening to the English language
service BBC Radio Wales than at any time in the last two years;
The Broadcasting Council for Wales commend the Here For You community strategy
for "enriching output across BBC Wales's services, discovering new talent and
voices, forging new collaborations with external partners and engaging and
involving young people";
BBC Wales's online services in English and Welsh attracted a record average of
more than 800,000 unique users each week.
Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, welcomed the Annual Review saying: "What the last year has shown is that a combination of energy and talent and, in
particular, a willingness to look outward, can seize any number of opportunities
to reveal to the rest of the UK the creative ability that flourishes here in
Wales.
"With record investment in programmes, record numbers visiting our online
services, radio audiences growing and the success of the Here For You community
strategy in creating a more open BBC that reflects communities across the whole
of Wales, BBC Wales can claim to be in the strongest position in its proud
history.
"It's the BBC thing. It's the way in which a huge broadcasting organisation can
be flexible enough to provide room for a process of cross-fertilisation that
puts more programmes made by BBC Wales on the networks.
"And, perhaps most important of all, in our various services on television,
radio and online in Welsh and English we play the single biggest role in
reflecting Wales to itself - not just on our own services but also in a
substantial contribution to the continuing success of S4C, with whom we are in
the process of finalising a new strategic partnership in the best interests of
Welsh language audiences."
Notes to Editors
The full BBC Wales Annual Review 2005-06 is available online at bbc.co.uk/wales.
The Broadcasting Council for Wales (BCW) reviews BBC Wales programmes and
services on an ongoing basis and presents an annual report to the BBC Board of
Governors based on feedback from licence fee payers in Wales, audience research
and detailed discussions with the BBC Cymru Wales Board of Management.
The BCW
also recommends objectives for BBC Wales.
The BCW is chaired by the National
Governor for Wales, who sits on the Board of Governors.
The BCW meets monthly
and has up to 12 members. These are selected by the Governors following an
open recruitment process.
Members are non-executive and part time, and are
chosen to reflect a wide range of experience and interests.
BBC Wales Press Office
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