Non-executive Members of S4c's Commercial Board

S4C is looking to appoint two Non Executive Board Members onto its Commercial Board.

S4C is a public service broadcaster with a unique role to commission, create and distribute Welsh language content across a range of platforms, reaching audiences across Wales and beyond.

S4C is a public body which is accountable to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and receives its funding from the licence fee. It supplements this funding with additional income generated from commercial activities.

These commercial activities are conducted through wholly-owned subsidiaries of S4C, which are managed and overseen by a commercial board. S4C is now seeking to appoint two non-executive directors to the commercial board.

**Commercial group**

There are currently five companies in S4C’s commercial group:
S4C Masnachol Cyf

S4C Rhyngwladol Cyf

S4C2 Cyf

S4C Digital Media Limited

S4C PTG Cyf

Further details are set out in the Appendix.

The members of the board of directors are the same for each company. This appointment would therefore be as a non-executive director of all five companies.

The board of each company consists of executive directors, external non-executive directors and non-executive directors from the main S4C Board, and the chair is S4C’s Chief Executive.

**Commercial activities**

S4C’s commercial activities contribute an average of c.£1m per year to S4C, which are reinvested in its public services. The net assets of the commercial group are c.£20m, which have been generated from past commercial investments.

In 2022, S4C adopted a new commercial strategy, designed with a clear purpose: to deliver financial and strategic value to S4C, its audience and to Wales.

The strategy is intended to deliver greater financial returns; to enhance on-screen value and S4C’s creative reputation; to build stronger direct relationships with S4C’s audience; and to support economic growth and skills development in Wales.

The strategy sets out 6 areas of commercial activity:

- Co-production - where S4C increases the volume and value of co-produced content;
- Content IP - where S4C increases the value it generates from content and intellectual property;
- Business growth investment - increasing strategic and financial returns from growth investment by establishing an investment fund to take stakes in businesses close to S4C’s remit, that have growth potential;
- Advertising and Sponsorship - developing exciting and enduring opportunities across S4C’s platforms to increase income from advertising and sponsorship;
- Brands - adopting a cross-organisation approach to consumer brand building, to generate financial and audience value from S4C’s current and future brands; and

These activities are closely aligned to S4C’s core objectives and support its overarching 2022-27 Strategy. The commercial strategy intends to both increase the annual financial contribution from S4C’s commercial activities to S4C’s public service fund, and grow the value of the commercial fund over time to support future reinvestment.

In line with the strategy, two commercial funds were launched in 2023:
The activities of the commercial board include:

- Monitoring existing commercial investments
- Scrutinising new investment proposals
- Overseeing performance of advertising and sponsorship activities by S4C’s sales agency
- Overseeing performance of externally managed investment fund.

**Commercial Board Member roles**:
**Position One - Non-Executive Board Member with Advertising Expertise**
- Provide strategic direction to support the Commercial Board in meeting its goal of developing opportunities across S4C’s platforms to increase income from advertising and sponsorship.
- Scrutinising the performance of S4C’s advertising sales agency
- Demonstrate significant experience in the advertising sales industry, especially in the television and/or digital sector.

**Position Two - Non-Executive Director with Commercial Experience in Production Sector**
- Provide strategic direction to support the Commercial Board in its investment activities, especially in relation to the monetisation of content and intellectual property.
- Demonstrate significant commercial experience and knowledge of the creative industries and international content markets.

**In addition to the experience above**:

- Providing efficient and effective strategic leadership, through the commercial board, of S4C’s group of commercial companies.
- Upholding and working towards the vision, mission, values, behaviours, and objectives of S4C Commercial and ensuring the organisation continues to work towards these.
- Leveraging of networks to support organisational and business development.
- Always acting in the interests of S4C Commercial in relation to assets, property, statutory obligations and management requirements.
- Ensuring S4C Commercial delivers the agreed strategy within relevant legal and governance requirements.
- Promoting prudent and effec