Dragons supporters will have the chance to try out their circus skills courtesy of S4C and No Fit State Circus on Saturday as the Welsh broadcaster raises awareness of South Wales’ transmitter switchover which marks the end of analogue for S4C and Wales.
Viewers in the Wenvoe transmitter area are being urged to adapt every television set in their homes before the end month so they can enjoy S4C as a totally digital and entirely Welsh language channel. The transmitter is the last to switch in Wales, marking the start of a new era in Welsh broadcasting.
S4C switches to digital in the south east Wales region on 31 March 2010. To find out when you switch to digital go to www.s4c.co.uk/digital or call S4C’s viewers’ hotline on 0870 600 4141.
The change will see the traditional analogue TV signal switched off and in its place a new and stronger digital TV signal will be broadcast.
To draw people’s attention to the changes, S4C has been staging a circus-themed roadshow called On with the Show, an exciting, free-of-charge display featuring contemporary circus performers NoFit State Circus. The events have been hosted by some of the channel’s best-known presenters, including Nia Parry, Gareth Roberts, Daloni Metcalfe, Dudley Newbery, Angharad Mair and Morgan Jones.
Shows in the Wenvoe transmitter areas, hosted by S4C’s Angharad Mair and Alex Jones are taking place on Saturday, March 20, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay at 11.30am and 1.30pm and on Sunday, March 21 at McArthur Glen shopping centre at 12.00pm and 2.00pm.
S4C will also be taking the roadshow into communities throughout the transmitter area from Thursday March 25 to Monday March 29. Look out for S4C’s characters and presenters in your area! For more information about these events visit www.s4c.co.uk/digital.
The shows aim to entertain all ages while helping to communicate the benefits of digital switchover and the changes to S4C. They also serve to emphasise that switching to digital isn’t as difficult as learning circus skills.
Viewers who watch TV through an aerial (whether analogue or digital) will be affected by switchover, and will need a digitally-enabled TV or set-top box to continue receiving S4C. Viewers who have Sky, FreeSat or cable TV will not be affected by switchover, but viewers watching on Freeview will need to retune when S4C becomes a totally digital and entirely Welsh language channel.
Every television in the home will need to be adapted, not just the main set.
After switchover, S4C will be an entirely Welsh language channel. Channel 4 programmes will be available separately in Wales
Tim Hartley, S4C’s head of corporate affairs, said: “The digital switchover is a very important stage in S4C’s evolution because soon we will be an entirely Welsh channel. We value our viewers and we have been staging the On with the Show campaign in the heart of communities since the start of switchover, to offer support and advice, and to demonstrate that switching to digital isn’t difficult – certainly not as difficult as learning tricky circus skills.”
S4C will continue to entertain and inform throughout and beyond digital switchover with a wide range of award-winning programmes, from live events and sport, to drama, music, news and current affairs, entertainment and children’s programmes.
For further information about digital switchover and about On with the Show activity, call the S4C Viewers’ Hotline on 0870 600 4141 or visit S4C’s digital switchover website www.s4c.co.uk/digital
