S4C praises plans for new rules for streaming services

S4C says its on demand service was "drowning" among competition from subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime

Viewers will be able to find Welsh programmes on-demand more easily under plans for a shake-up of broadcasting rules, S4C has said.

UK ministers says the changes will help public service broadcasters compete with big streaming companies.

Services such as the BBC's iPlayer, ITV Hub and S4C Clic will have to be displayed more prominently.

It is part of a White Paper, or policy document, the UK government says will create a "golden age of British TV".

• S4C to get £7.5m extra from BBC licence fee

• BBC licence fee to be frozen at £159 for two years

The rules are similar to the way broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 occupy the top channels on traditional TV.

Under the plans a new "prominence regime" would be established for on-demand TV from public service broadcasters, which will also apply to S4C within Wales, designed to make them easy to find on pay TV and smart TVs.

S4C chief executive Sian Doyle said the channel's Clic was "drowning" among competition from subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Users had to find then download the app before using it, she told BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Ginio programme.

The changes proposed on Thursday were "very positive" and reflected the way viewers watched content, she added.

S4C will have "greater clarity on its ability to invest and generate commercial revenue", say ministers

The government has also accepted recommendations to lift restrictions imposed on S4C, which has a duty to make TV for people "wholly or mainly" in Wales.

It says it "will update S4C's public service remit to include digital and online services and remove the current geographical broadcasting restrictions".

"These changes will allow S4C to broaden its reach and offer its content on a range of new platforms in the UK and beyond," it says.

A requirement for the BBC to provide a set amount of programmes for S4C, currently around 10 hours a week, could also be scrapped.

Instead, the two broadcasters would be able to "agree an alternative arrangement".

The White Paper proposes changing the way the BBC is funded, but says S4C - which is funded through the licence fee - must "continue to receive a sustainable and predictable level of funding".

It will get £88.8m this year and next, before its budget starts rising with inflation.

In future, the government says S4C will have "greater clarity on its ability to invest and generate commercial revenue".

UK government Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said: "Hundreds of thousands of people access Welsh-language content every week and our plans will provide greater support to broadcasters like S4C and make it easier for audiences to find content in the language of their choice."

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