Welsh broadcaster reports record steaming figures through the BBC iPlayer, boosted by its sports coverage in the first week of 2024.
- Coverage of Shrewsbury Town v Wrexham drove viewers to the iPlayer.
- S4C is currently streaming on both the BBC and its own streaming platform.
S4C saw the highest number of viewing sessions on BBC iPlayer during the first week of 2024. The broadcaster reported over 350,000 viewing sessions between 1st and 7th January 2024.
Wrexham’s progress in the FA Cup helped to draw viewers to the S4C iPlayer stream, with its game against Shrewsbury Town coming top. Coverage of the Dragons v Scarlet Rugby derby also attracted fans.
Overall, S4C reported a 22% increase in the viewing of S4C programmes on iPlayer compared to the same week last year.
S4C Drama Bariau, was also among the programmes that performed well with viewers.
Dual-streaming strategy
But while S4C is doing well on the BBC iPlayer, it also faces the task of growing its own standalone streaming service – S4C Clic.
According to S4C, Clic also saw a 22% increase in viewing during the first week of 2024, compared the same period last year.
S4C has received £7.5 million of additional funding from the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media, and Sport to develop the provision on digital platforms. The broadcaster is trying to get S4C Clic on more platforms across the UK.
S4C receives most of its money from the licence fee, plus money from carrying adverts. But with the future of the licence fee and scope of the BBC in question, S4C can’t rely on piggybacking on the iPlayer indefinitely. Therefore it needs to continue to build its own online presence.
But it may prove more difficult to persuade viewers, tasked with having to create a separate login, to migrate away from the tried and tested and omnipresent iPlayer.
S4C’s take on the matter comes from Geraint Evans, S4C’s Joint Interim Chief Executive:
“As viewing habits change, the challenge for S4C is to ensure that our content is available to viewers on whatever platform suits them. Our programmes need to create noise and make an impression because of all the competition that exist. These latest figures show that the multi-platform strategy is succeeding. We are aiming to enrich the viewing experience on iPlayer through our partnership with the BBC, while at the same time trying to ensure that S4C Clic is available on more viewing platforms. Our thanks go to S4C staff and our partners in the sector here in Wales, for the ingenuity and creativity that attracts our audience to the content.”
How to watch S4C across the UK
Marc Thornham