The S4C digital strategy is intended to create a strong infrastructure for the organisation and audience, enabling it to build a reputation as commissioner and distributor of ‘excellent’ content on digital platforms and hopefully managing to cater for a range of users in the way they choose to use content. It announced in April that it will be spending £1 million a year for the next three years to ensure that S4C has a digital offer that will meet the needs of Welsh speakers in the Netflix and Amazon era.

Achieving this plan said S4C meant that it needed to strengthen its technology systems, ensuring that they meet the expectations of what it calls a sophisticated and diverse audience, using relevant data that reflects the wishes and use of such viewers and hence adopting systems that allow much higher levels of personalisation. The process of personalising online services will start so that viewers can find content that is of particular interest to them. Also, the channel will start on the path of digital promotion push-notifications through mobile devices, as well as other conventional digital communications.

Whole series will be available online following the transmission of the first episode from September onwards. This will begin with factual series and a ballot will take place during August to select the first series to become available to view for signed-in viewers. Specifically, the Hansh service will stream whole series online on the date of the first television broadcast and increase their user-generated content (WPL) and other changes will include upgrading the player S4C Clic to create a better viewer experience plus the creation of the necessary infrastructure to offer box-sets of new content and archive content.

Commenting on the move, S4C chief executive Owen Evans, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to find Welsh content that is of interest to them on digital platforms. It happens with a lot of English content and having the same thing for Welsh language content is vital. Developments in the distribution of digital content will be key to the future the Welsh language in the media. The independent review and the government's response to it have accepted the need for S4C to expand its activities into the digital space and we have warmly welcomed those decisions.  The key point for S4C is that it is vital that we ensure that Welsh language content is available on popular digital platforms. This, hand in hand with maintaining a strong television service, will ensure that the Welsh language is heard in the media and is a prominent part our daily lives.”