15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
They're long, repetitive answers. I'm challenging legitimately, so I'd be grateful if you'd give me the space to do that.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Slow.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Well, you've had eight years of flat spend, so that's a reasonably long time frame to show progress, isn't it?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
You're satisfied with 1.3 per cent.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Well, it's a low base, and it's going slightly higher. Less than 1 per cent consistently; now, it's just above 1 per cent, and we have a population share of 5 per cent. So, to avoid this just being a blip, what are you doing more systematically to try and be…
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Low, isn't it?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Yes, sure.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
What type of increase, because it was 0.7 per cent? What sort of increase?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Well, it's been static for—
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
And the spending in Wales for the last eight years has been flat. Now, we hear Bad Wolf, for example, saying in recent weeks that the crews in Wales and the storytelling in Wales are among the best in the world and that's why they're here. So, if it's the…
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Well, no-one's asking you to do everything; we're just asking you to serve your audiences. Just in terms of the point about the network spend within the UK, so that's not about spending more than you currently spend, it's how and where you spend it, and you…
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
So, you're now saying it's more of a regulatory burden than it is a unique offering that you have to viewers.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
So—forgive me—you've always made an argument that the fact that you represent the whole of the UK and its diversity is part of your unique selling point.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
It's not prominent.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
What about non-news?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
It's a choice here, isn't it?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
It doesn't cost £3 billion to do that—
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Well, if you look very hard, you might find them. But they're not—. I'm drawing the parallel with iPlayer, where there's a personalised service offered that directs and promotes content from where you're from. In terms of serving audiences in Wales, you've…
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Forgive me, you've said that, and I understand that. I'm not just asking about news. I'm asking about the whole range of programmes about Wales, serving audiences in Wales.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
It really isn't; it's been going for some years and it's a conscious decision that's been made not to do that. That's a choice, isn't it? So, I'm asking you: why have you made that choice?
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
If I go on the BBC iPlayer, for example, it personalises it to me, it knows where I'm watching from and it offers me content from Wales. ITVX doesn't do that.
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Public service broadcasting in Wales: Panel 1 - Evidence session with ITV
Just on this, because we do understand the intense commercial pressures you face, but, within the spend that you have and are committed to, you make choices. So, you gave the example there of ITVX. There's very little prominence to programmes about Wales or…
15 January 2026 , Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Introductions, apologies and substitutions
Yes, Chair. I'd like to declare that my son is a BBC apprentice.
13 January 2026 , Plenary
& 10. The general principles of the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill and the financial resolution in respect of the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill
Sorry to interrupt you towards the end of your speech. I just want to test something with you, as this is a Stage 1 debate. Specifically on the proposal to give the standards commissioner the freedom to launch their own investigations, which I supported as an…
13 January 2026 , Plenary
& 10. The general principles of the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill and the financial resolution in respect of the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill
Would the Member give way?
