´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales audiences want better digital radio coverage
- Published
The digital radio signal was top of the agenda in the Audience Council report
Viewers and listeners in Wales want the ´óÏó´«Ã½ to address the lack of availability of a digital radio signal in some areas.
The latest Audience Council report found that Radio Cymru and Radio Wales are not available on DAB to half the population.
Also 70% of Welsh speakers are unable to receive ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cymru on DAB.
The report also stressed that people still wanted UK audiences to see "more of modern Wales".
The 11-member audience watchdog was set up to represent the views of people in Wales to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Trust, the corporation's governing body. It replaced the Broadcasting Council for Wales.
During the year under review, the council met 11 times and hosted seven public outreach events - in Rhosllannerchrugog, Llandrindod, Llanbedrog, Builth Wells and three in Cardiff with a variety of organisations including Age Concern and the Alzheimer's Society.
'Successes'
In its fourth annual report the Audience Council reiterated its desire to see more of modern Wales in network programmes.
It pointed to research it had commissioned from the University of Glamorgan on how Wales is portrayed by the ´óÏó´«Ã½.
The review also pushed for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ to publish proposals to enhance support for formal education in Welsh and English.
Elsewhere, the report praised the start of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales' new drama centre's construction at Cardiff Bay and the Welsh language output broadcast on S4C.
It also pointed to successes of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales-produced programmes including Doctor Who, Torchwood: Children of Earth and the 2009 ´óÏó´«Ã½ Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
Reviewing the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Welsh language output broadcast on S4C the council concluded that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ fulfilled its Public Purpose obligations during the year under review (the duty to promote the six Public Purposes is placed upon the ´óÏó´«Ã½ by the Royal Charter).
Janet Lewis-Jones, ´óÏó´«Ã½ National Trustee for Wales and chair of the Audience Council, said the body had continued to exercise its role as the voice of audiences in Wales and had made that voice "clearly heard".
She said: "I look back with admiration at the immense amount the council has achieved during 2009-10 and look forward to seeing further successes resulting from the council's determination to ensure that the interests of audiences in Wales lie at the heart of all that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ does."