Television in Wales

Television in the UK started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, but did not arrive in Wales until the opening of the Wenvoe transmitter in August 1952.

[1] Initially, all programmes were in the English language, although under the leadership of Welsh director and controller Alun Oldfield-Davies, occasional Welsh language programmes were broadcast during closed periods, replacing the test card.

The first web pages for Wales began to appear on BBC Online in 1997, including a variety of features surrounding programming, schedules, community events and other stories.

[7] BBC Cymru Wales is currently based in Cardiff and directly employs some 1,200 people to produce a range of programmes for television, radio and online services in both English and Welsh.

[9] On 17 September 1980, the former president of Plaid Cymru, Gwynfor Evans, threatened to go on a hunger strike if the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher did not honour its commitment to provide a Welsh language television service.

[10] On the 1st of November 1982, S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru) was launched bringing together the BBC, HTV and other independent producers to provide an initial service of 22 hours of Welsh-language television.