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S4C CEO exits as budget cut looms
S4C's CEO Iona Jones has left the troubled Welsh public broadcaster following a meeting with the network's governing body yesterday.
No reason is being given for the departure, although the channel was reportedly warned last week by the UK's Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) that it faced a 24% cut to its annual grant of £101.7m (US$159m) from October.
S4C Authority chair John Walter Jones said last week: "S4C is not aware of any specific proposals relating to its grant in aid at this time. As is the case with other publicly funded bodies, the overall targets being considered by government are known, but DCMS has not revealed its intentions for the future funding of S4C.
"In the meantime S4C has been making a number of significant changes over the past 18 months to ensure the channel operates efficiently in the context of a challenging economic climate. The S4C Authority has charged the chief executive and her management team with assessing the implications of any future government cuts to its budget, including the impact on the channel’s public services and any potential changes affecting content and service suppliers in the independent sector."
However, in a statement today, S4C said: "Following a meeting of the S4C Authority, Iona Jones, the channel's chief executive, has left S4C. The Authority's members would like to thank Iona Jones for her service to S4C."
An S4C spokesman refused to comment on either the proposed cuts or Jones's departure, and it is not known who is running the network in the interim. The news comes as Calon TV - the Welsh animation studio that produces for S4C and is behind kids' series such as Hannah's Helpline, Fireman Sam and SuperTed - confirmed it would be going into liquidation.
Adam Benzine
29 Jul 2010
© C21 Media 2010
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