''( en,

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

Sport)'' is a Welsh-language

sports television The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...

channel, and

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...

of the

Welsh-language general interest channel.

Main coverage

Rugby union

S4C's rugby coverage has been at the heart of the Saturday evening schedule for over a decade. S4C has joint rights, along with BBC Cymru Wales and

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

, to broadcast matches from the Pro14, which it does under the '' Clwb Rygbi'' brand. Matches are generally shown on Sunday afternoons, and involve where possible at least one Welsh regional team. S4C also have the rights to live matches from the conclusion of the

SWALEC Cup The WRU Challenge Cup (currently known as the Specsavers Cup due to sponsorship), or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union. On 26 Februa ...

and the

Principality Premiership The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season. Compe ...

at club level, as well as the Welsh Autumn Internationals and Six Nations at international level. Highlights of the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

, as well as the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

are also shown. BBC Cymru Wales produces most of the sporting coverage on S4C, as part of obligation to provide several hours of Welsh-language programming each week. In the past, the channel has shown action from the Welsh Premiership and Welsh-Scottish League. Presenters include Gareth Rhys Owen and Lauren Jenkins, with punditry from the likes of

Deiniol Jones Deiniol Jones (born 18 November 1977) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player who played as a lock. Born in Carmarthen, he played for the Carmarthen Quins youth team before moving to study chemistry at the University of Bath in 1997. T ...

Andrew Coombs Andrew Coombs is a former Wales international rugby union player. His position is back-row forward or lock forward. Career Coombs attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, and is a fluent Welsh speaker. He played for Newport Youth and Pontypool RFC befo ...

and Nicky Robinson.

Rugby league

S4C began its second foray into

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

in June 2007, when they broadcast four

Celtic Crusaders Crusaders Rugby League ( cy, Croesgadwyr Rygbi'r Gynghrair) was a professional rugby league club based in Bridgend and later in Wrexham, Wales. They played for six seasons in the Rugby Football League competitions, including three years in the ...

matches live starting with the home match against

Barrow Raiders The Barrow Raiders are a semi-professional rugby league team in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club was formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club. For the 1995–96 and 1996 seasons the club was known as Barrow Braves, becoming the Ba ...

on Saturday 9 June 2007. The Crusaders are Wales' only professional rugby league club. The only other time that S4C have screened the 13-man code was when they showed all three of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

' 1995 Rugby League World Cup matches where the Dragons progressed to the semi-final stage. These matches will be part of the first individual club deal with a television company in rugby league. However, since the Crusaders selection for the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

competition, this coverage has now ceased.

Association football

S4C broadcasts highlights of the Welsh Premier League every Saturday night usually after the rugby coverage. The channel also shows live matches from the Welsh Premier League,

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

, and highlights of Welsh internationals, as

have the rights to live coverage. There is also coverage of selected European ties involving Welsh clubs. Coverage is shown under the '' Sgorio Cymru'' brand. The channel also shows ''Sgorio'', which broadcasts highlights of games from

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

and Primera Liga. The programme is broadcast on Tuesday nights, usually at 10.00pm. For the 2010/11 season, S4C will broadcast live Saturday afternoon clashes from the Welsh Premier League, as well as a results service covering football from the English League Pyramid and the rest of the Welsh club matches.

Harness racing

S4C broadcast action from harness race meetings during the summer in ''Rasus'', broadcast on Monday nights. The programme usually consists of live coverage from meetings at Tir Prince Raceway in Towyn and the Amman Valley Trotting Club in Tairgwaith. Live coverage of the annual two-day

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

festival is also broadcast as well as highlights programmes from meetings at

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, Caersws and

Boughrood Boughrood ( cy, Bochrwyd) is a village in the community of Glasbury in Powys, Wales. Historically in Radnorshire, the village is situated near the River Wye between Hay-on-Wye and Builth Wells. The River Wye passes to the west and north of th ...

Rallying

Due to the Wales Rally GB, S4C bid for and won rights to broadcast highlights from each event of the World Rally Championship. Coverage is shown the Thursday after the event.

Cricket

From 2010, S4C will introduce coverage of county cricket from Glamorgan, including five live matches from the counties'

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

matches and highlights from all other games. Live coverage will also include action from the newly formed Welsh Village Cup.

Presenters

* Jonathan Davies * Dylan Ebenezer * Non Evans * Lauren Jenkins *

* Gareth Rhys Owen * Nicky Robinson * Amanda Protheroe-Thomas

External links

S4C Chwaraeon website
{{DEFAULTSORT:S4C Chwaraeon Welsh language Television in Wales S4C