S4C's 'financial uncertainty' over review delay, CEO warns

S4C is facing a period of financial uncertainty after facing 'cuts after cuts', the Welsh language television channel's chief executive has warned.

Ian Jones told a parliamentary committee that reductions to the channel's funding could not "go on".

The UK government announced a 25% reduction to S4C's grant in 2015 - but this was frozen while a review took place.

The details of the review are yet to be announced by the UK government.

The outgoing chief executive Ian Jones and chairman of S4C Huw Jones said the lack of clarity over the review was creating a period of financial uncertainty.

They told the Welsh Affairs Select Committee the UK grant could be cut by £700,000 for 2017-2018, from from £6.762m to £6.058m.

The remainder of S4C's funding comes from £74.5m raised by the BBC licence fee arrangements.

However, the two heads of the channel said cuts to UK government funding would have a significant impact on S4C and that "they would cut everything else to the bone."

Mr Jones told the committee of MPs that since he became the chief executive there had been "cuts after cuts after cuts and it can't go on like that".

He said the board would look at further repeats, reducing subtitles and cutting the HD service if further cuts were made - but stressed that they would try to protect the high-definition service.

"We need to ensure that S4C doesn't become a second class service," he said.