Rhys Bevan, head of content operations at S4C, described the nearly seven-year journey undertaken by the BBC and S4C in Wales to establish a new HQ in Cardiff: “From laptops to playout, this building represents our move from linear broadcasting to IP-based multiplatform delivery.”
During an RTS Cymru Wales tour last month, Bevan and Roger Crothers, head of technology at BBC Cymru Wales, said the £120m Central Square building was conceived as a fully integrated IP operation, which will be the largest digital broadcast centre of its kind in Europe when complete.
The centre opened for business in October 2019 and now handles transmission for both broadcasters. Bevan explained that, as part of the move, S4C’s former transmission centre in Llanishen, north Cardiff, “was taken over by BBC colleagues for six months before the move so that they could develop a full understanding of what running S4C was like”.
Crothers emphasised the BBC’s vision of an accessible public space, with technical facilities for “all spaces in and outside the building to be used for live broadcasting”.
The current services hosted at the site include BBC One Wales, BBC Two Wales and S4C, along with Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, iPlayer and S4C’s on-demand service, Clic. Many network programmes are also broadcast from the centre, including some editions of Newsnight.
The tour took in the new TV studios with their virtual sets and robotic cameras, which can quickly be reconfigured to accommodate both BBC Wales Today and S4C’s Newyddion.
Report by Hywel Wiliam
