Sport broadcasts can be catalyst for Welsh learners

Sport has always been a powerful aspect of Welsh culture.

It can galvanise the nation, promote Welsh values through song and jubilation, and more importantly than ever, be used as a weapon to increase the number of Welsh speakers.

Seven out of ten of the top 20 programmes watched on S4C in 2023 were sport-related, with almost 80% of those broadcasts involving Cymru men’s national football team.

The Welsh-language channel currently broadcasts Wales’ international football thanks to a sub-licencing deal with Viaplay, as well as several other sporting events ranging from the Tour de France to the Six Nations as part of its varied sports coverage.

The Football Association of Wales’ (FAW) continued efforts to advocate the Welsh language has revitalised the relationship between the language and fans, with a new deal securing rights to Cymru senior men’s international football matches until 2028.

“Our partnership with S4C has been a cornerstone to the growth of Y Wal Goch and we are so happy that Cymru men’s matches will be free-to-air,” said Noel Mooney, Football Association of Wales Chief Executive.

“This is a golden age for Cymru, and we are delighted to be able to share it with everyone.”

Since Cymru heroically made the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-finals, the FAW has offered Welsh-language instruction for football coaches, actively promoted Welsh songs, and encouraged players in its national teams to learn the language.

But, perhaps the most crucial aspect of these developments has been the continued success of Cymru national games on S4C, which accounted for six out of the top eight most watched programmes in 2023 on the channel.

Sgorio, the current home of Welsh-language football, is one of the longest-running programmes on S4C.

In the days preceding Sky Sports or TNT Sports, its popularity extended well beyond Welsh borders as football enthusiasts tuned in to watch Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and latterly, Germany’s Bundesliga.

Welsh broadcaster and producer Owain Gwynedd explained that much has changed since Sgorio’s early broadcasts, with a specific recent focus on attracting non-Welsh speaking audiences to the channel.

“The Welsh language and sport are vital for each other. It attracts non-Welsh speaking people to the channel, as well as bringing different sporting events to our screens that we perhaps wouldn’t necessarily normally broadcast,” he said.

“Sport is undoubtedly a strong weapon for S4C to gain new followers, as viewers don’t need to fully understand the commentary to follow the match.”

Amazon were reported to be shocked by how many viewers chose to watch the 2021 Autumn rugby internationals in the Welsh language, rather than pay to watch in English.

That prompted the streaming service to provide their own Welsh language option which Gwynedd has fronted since, instead of sub-licensing the coverage to S4C as has traditionally been the case for Cymru football matches.

“To have Amazon Prime broadcasting rugby games in Welsh for the first time showed that they see the commercial value that comes with broadcasting through the language,” he added.

“In many ways S4C have set the template for other platforms to copy, by broadcasting in Welsh to attract non-Welsh speakers.”

Owain and the rest of Amazon Prime’s Welsh language pundits before Wales v New Zealand. Credit: @owaingwynedd

Since the Welsh government announced its plans to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050, S4C has broadcasted Geraint Thomas winning the Tour de France, Wales winning the Six Nations twice in 2019 and 2021, as well as Cymru’s historic qualification to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Despite the total number of speakers having marginally decreased since 2011 according to Census data, less concern has been voiced by language experts who have called for more accurate and regular data collection.

S4C joint interim Chief Executive and Chief Content Officer Geraint Evans explained to Broadcast Sport that S4C regards sport as a pivotal way of reaching non-Welsh speakers, both within Wales as well as in the rest of the UK.

“It’s the lifeblood of the channel – it brings people into the channel, and to the language,” he said.

Women’s sport is also at the centre of S4C’s plans, as Evans added that it’s not only their responsibility as a broadcaster, but also that there’s a desire for more Welsh women’s sport exposure from viewers.

This includes doubling the number of live women’s football broadcasts, as well as providing live coverage of the first WXV rugby tournament in New Zealand last autumn.

S4C recently secured £7.5 million of additional funding from the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media, and Sport to develop its digital output, and have since formed a partnership with Little Dot Studios in order to supercharge their YouTube following.

It also launched on Freeview Play last summer, giving 16 million homes across the UK access to the broadcaster’s content.

As Cymru attempt to reach their third consecutive Euros with crucial upcoming play-off games, there will undoubtedly be more high figures for S4C and elevated engagement with the language.