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At least that's what one senior Conservative suggests - one who wishes there was something better to report, one who regards support for S4C as "a statement of respect for the language" but one who believes that the channel's own Authority has failed miserably to box clever and has, instead, boxed itself into a corner.

To be clear: cutting S4C's budget will now be possible. The UK government announced today that it will legislate to break the inflation link to S4C funding increases if MPs approve, which means the door is now open to introduce cuts which government insiders have been suggesting could be between 20% and 30% over the next few years.

In - the channel argues that a 25% reduction in its budget "would significantly reduce the Authority's ability to provide a broad range of high quality programmes as part of a full television service, would strike at the heart of the programme service itself, and would call into question the S4C Authority's ability to fully perform its statutory duties".

The spending on content would fall from £83m per year to £62m by 2014.

Set aside the fact that many expect the Authority to be defunct before very long anyway. And read on.

A cut of 40%, says the report, would call into question S4C's very existence as a channel. Spending on content would fall to just over £50m over the next four years. 800 jobs would be lost. "Even a more cautious approach would put the estimate of lost employment at over 500".

So what does S4C want?

A root and branch review of every single aspect of the channel's future to be done and dusted by June 2011. Who should be responsible for it? The S4C Authority and the channel's staff. In other words: hands off Jeremy Hunt. We want to "own" this. And until it's written, don't cut us off at the knees.

Whatever happens there's a commitment to reduce staff and to save £1.5m in annual salary costs.

And try these suggestions for size:

Afternoon

We would also need to review all our current afternoon transmissions - largely, daytime magazine programmes.
This would present us with the challenge of either leasing the time to other broadcasters or filling with ultra-low
cost material. It might be a space where we could run the proceedings of the National Assembly.

Gee thanks as one AM put it.

How about plans to "explore the use of product placement within current rules" - Pobol y Cwm scriptwriters, get your thinking (logo-enhanced) caps on.

But make no mistake: this is a bid for survival.

On Radio Wales this morning Rhodri Morgan made clear that moves were made to devolve responsiblity for S4C to the Assembly Government - no strings attached, not much money attached either - while he was First Minister. He said no thanks, because his government would have had to cut its budget by 10% every year because a television channel can't compete with healthcare.

The whisper is that transferring S4C - no strings attached but absolutely no money either - to the Assembly Government was very much on Jeremy Hunt's cards. "It was pencilled in" said one voice.

The question now is whether S4C will be given the time and the opportunity to shed its own skin and start - let alone finish - that process of renewal.

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