Media in Cardiff
Encyclopedia
As the capital of Wales, media in Cardiff plays a large role in the city and nationwide. Cardiff
is the largest media sector in the United Kingdom
outside of London and it is produced mainly in English and Welsh. Employment in the sector has grown significantly in recent years, and currently provides employment for 2.1% of the city's workforce - higher than the level across Wales (1.1%) and marginally lower than that across Great Britain as a whole (2.2%).
Cardiff
's daily tabloid newspaper is the South Wales Echo
, founded in 1884 and formerly based in Thomson House, now in 6 Park Street in the city centre
. There are two daily editions - News Extra in the morning and City Final edition. The Weekend Edition is published on Saturday. Roughly 50,000 copies are sold daily. The national newspapers, the Western Mail and Wales on Sunday, are also based in Thomson House as all are owned by Trinity Mirror
. The Western Mail has a daily circulation of about 40,000.
The Cardiff edition of Metro
is available daily on public transport in the city and around South Wales. Both the South Wales Echo and Metro publish daily information for the city such as the weather and entertainment listings.
The Times Educational Supplement
Cymru is based in the city, but the paper itself is printed in England.
Gair rhydd
is the award winning weekly tabloid published by the students of Cardiff University
and is available free in the Cardiff University Students' Union
.
Cardiff County Council publishes the monthly Capital Times, and the Echo Extra is delivered free to homes. The Welsh language newspaper Y Dinesydd
(or Papur Bro) is published monthly for the city. Additionally, all British daily newspapers are widely available in the city.
Magazines based in the capital include Jazz UK, Buzz magazine
and Primary Times
has its headquarters in Broadcasting House Cardiff
, Llandaff
, ITV Wales has its studios in Culverhouse Cross
and S4C
has its headquarters in Llanishen
.
Between 2002 and 2009 Capital TV served the city, a locally-based free-to-air analogue terrestrial television station operating on a Restricted Service Licence
. It broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on UHF channel 49. The signal has been independently verified to reach approximately 220,000 viewers across the city. It broadcast local news, local features and documentaries, movies, local band performances, productions made by local media colleges and programming made by young people under educational training at Media4Group - the majority shareholder.
Capital TV Cardiff was initially developed by the Cardiff-based production company Merlin Broadcast Ltd and won the contest for the Cardiff licence in 1998. It was allocated the lowest transmitter power and the lowest antenna height of any local station in the UK. Worse still, because of frequency clashes with an ITV relay mast, Capital TV was not allowed to broadcast a full service until 2005 - by which time digital terrestrial television had become commonplace. Unlike the BBC, ITV and S4C; Capital TV received no public funding. The company decided to relinquish its analogue Local TV broadcasting licence in 2009 as this was due to expire in October that year as part of the switchover to digital.
The city also has its own Ofcom-licensed local digital television spectrum, owned by Cube Interactive
.
The national radio broadcaster, BBC Cymru Wales
, broadcasts BBC Radio Wales
(103.9 MHz) and Radio Cymru (96.8 MHz) on various frequencies across Wales from Broadcasting House Cardiff
. Real Radio
(105.4 MHz), broadcasts across Wales from Morganstown in north-west Cardiff.
Cardiff's principal commercial radio stations are Capital FM South Wales (103.2 MHz) and Gold (radio) (1359 kHz AM); both are based in the Red Dragon Centre
in Cardiff Bay
and play contemporary music.
Radio Cardiff
(98.7 MHz) is based in the Butetown
area and plays music of black origin. Radio Glamorgan is based in Heath
and broadcasts across the University Hospital of Wales
.
Xpress Radio
is broadcast from Cardiff University
Students' Union
. Tequila Radio broadcasts from the University of Glamorgan
's ATRiuM Campus
.
The Atrium building houses most of the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries faculty (CCI for short) of the University of Glamorgan
.
Cardiff is the filming location and/or setting for many mainstream television programmes such as Torchwood
, Doctor Who
, Sarah Jane Adventures, Merlin (TV series)
, Gavin and Stacey, Caerdydd
and Pobl y Cwm, and for films such as Human Traffic
, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
and 28 Weeks Later
.. It is also referenced in Mars Attacks!
It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC
is to move the filming shows such as Casualty
and Crimewatch
to studios in Cardiff
.
and confirmed on 27 March 2009 that filming will be begin in 2011.
In 2010, Cardiff was used for filming of a contemporary update of Arthur Conan Doyle
's Sherlock Holmes
in Sherlock, and for a remake of Upstairs, Downstairs
.
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
is the largest media sector in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
outside of London and it is produced mainly in English and Welsh. Employment in the sector has grown significantly in recent years, and currently provides employment for 2.1% of the city's workforce - higher than the level across Wales (1.1%) and marginally lower than that across Great Britain as a whole (2.2%).
Press
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
's daily tabloid newspaper is the South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
, founded in 1884 and formerly based in Thomson House, now in 6 Park Street in the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
. There are two daily editions - News Extra in the morning and City Final edition. The Weekend Edition is published on Saturday. Roughly 50,000 copies are sold daily. The national newspapers, the Western Mail and Wales on Sunday, are also based in Thomson House as all are owned by Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
. The Western Mail has a daily circulation of about 40,000.
The Cardiff edition of Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
is available daily on public transport in the city and around South Wales. Both the South Wales Echo and Metro publish daily information for the city such as the weather and entertainment listings.
The Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
Cymru is based in the city, but the paper itself is printed in England.
Gair rhydd
Gair rhydd
gair rhydd is the official student newspaper of Cardiff University. It is a weekly, free, tabloid-sized paper established in 1972 and edited by a full-time sabbatical officer of the Students' Union...
is the award winning weekly tabloid published by the students of Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
and is available free in the Cardiff University Students' Union
Cardiff University Students' Union
Cardiff University Students' Union is the students' union for Cardiff University and the largest in Wales, and, like most other students' unions, aims to promote the interests of its students...
.
Cardiff County Council publishes the monthly Capital Times, and the Echo Extra is delivered free to homes. The Welsh language newspaper Y Dinesydd
Y Dinesydd
Y Dinesydd is a monthly, local Welsh language newspaper for Cardiff, Wales, established in April 1973. It's available at schools, chapels, various organisations and companies for free. It contains news and articles about organisations in Cardiff and includes paid advertisements...
(or Papur Bro) is published monthly for the city. Additionally, all British daily newspapers are widely available in the city.
Magazines based in the capital include Jazz UK, Buzz magazine
Buzz (magazine)
Buzz is a free, monthly culture and what's on magazine for the South Wales region, established in 1991. It has a small staff, and relies on advertising revenues for funding. The magazine focuses on art, films, music, entertainment and dining in the South Wales area, and features a comprehensive...
and Primary Times
Primary Times
Primary Times is a free family magazine which is distributed to schools across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The magazine aims to inform families and children about current educational issues, forthcoming events, courses and attractions to give teachers, pupils and parents the opportunity to...
Television
All of Wales' national broadcasters are based in Cardiff. BBC WalesBBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
has its headquarters in Broadcasting House Cardiff
Broadcasting House (Cardiff)
Broadcasting House Cardiff is the purpose-built headquarters for BBC Cymru Wales' radio, television and online services, situated in north Cardiff...
, Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, ITV Wales has its studios in Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...
and S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
has its headquarters in Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
.
Between 2002 and 2009 Capital TV served the city, a locally-based free-to-air analogue terrestrial television station operating on a Restricted Service Licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
. It broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on UHF channel 49. The signal has been independently verified to reach approximately 220,000 viewers across the city. It broadcast local news, local features and documentaries, movies, local band performances, productions made by local media colleges and programming made by young people under educational training at Media4Group - the majority shareholder.
Capital TV Cardiff was initially developed by the Cardiff-based production company Merlin Broadcast Ltd and won the contest for the Cardiff licence in 1998. It was allocated the lowest transmitter power and the lowest antenna height of any local station in the UK. Worse still, because of frequency clashes with an ITV relay mast, Capital TV was not allowed to broadcast a full service until 2005 - by which time digital terrestrial television had become commonplace. Unlike the BBC, ITV and S4C; Capital TV received no public funding. The company decided to relinquish its analogue Local TV broadcasting licence in 2009 as this was due to expire in October that year as part of the switchover to digital.
The city also has its own Ofcom-licensed local digital television spectrum, owned by Cube Interactive
Cube Interactive
Cube Interactive ltd. is a privately owned interactive media company based in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 2006 by Wil Stephens....
.
Radio
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
, broadcasts BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
(103.9 MHz) and Radio Cymru (96.8 MHz) on various frequencies across Wales from Broadcasting House Cardiff
Broadcasting House (Cardiff)
Broadcasting House Cardiff is the purpose-built headquarters for BBC Cymru Wales' radio, television and online services, situated in north Cardiff...
. Real Radio
Real Radio
Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night...
(105.4 MHz), broadcasts across Wales from Morganstown in north-west Cardiff.
Cardiff's principal commercial radio stations are Capital FM South Wales (103.2 MHz) and Gold (radio) (1359 kHz AM); both are based in the Red Dragon Centre
Red Dragon Centre
The Red Dragon Centre is an indoor entertainment complex in southern Cardiff, the capital of Wales.The complex features restaurants, cafés, an Old Orleans restaurant, a Hollywood Bowl with arcade amusements, an Odeon multiplex cinema, a Doctor Who visitor centre , a casino and an on-site car park...
in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
and play contemporary music.
Radio Cardiff
Radio Cardiff
Radio Cardiff is a community radio station serving Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It broadcasts locally on 98.7 FM and via live streaming on the Internet....
(98.7 MHz) is based in the Butetown
Butetown
Butetown is a community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early nineteenth century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose title the area was named...
area and plays music of black origin. Radio Glamorgan is based in Heath
Heath, Cardiff
Heath is a community in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, originally called the Great Heath and named as a result of the large park and woodland that it once contained. It should be distinguished from the Little Heath which lies to the south of the Great Heath, in the vicinity of Crwys Road...
and broadcasts across the University Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales , opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales...
.
Xpress Radio
Xpress Radio
Xpress Radio is a national award-winning student radio station based at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales, focussed on current, popular and new music. The station broadcasts from 10am-11pm daily with programming ranging from comedy to film review, to the best in new and local music.Xpress is...
is broadcast from Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
Students' Union
Cardiff University Students' Union
Cardiff University Students' Union is the students' union for Cardiff University and the largest in Wales, and, like most other students' unions, aims to promote the interests of its students...
. Tequila Radio broadcasts from the University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
's ATRiuM Campus
Atrium (Cardiff)
ATRiuM is a campus of the University of Glamorgan, in Cardiff, Wales.Opened on 29 November 2007, it is home to one of the University's five faculties, CCI...
Other institutions
The Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies is based at Cardiff UniversityCardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
The Atrium building houses most of the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries faculty (CCI for short) of the University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
.
Use in media
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Sarah Jane Adventures, Merlin (TV series)
Merlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
, Gavin and Stacey, Caerdydd
Caerdydd
Caerdydd is a Welsh language television programme set in Cardiff made by Fiction Factory for Welsh public service television station S4C...
and Pobl y Cwm, and for films such as Human Traffic
Human Traffic
Human Traffic is a British independent film written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Justin Kerrigan. The film explores themes of coming of age, drug and club cultures, as well as relationships. It includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political...
, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a 1995 film written by Ivor Monger and directed by Christopher Monger. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival....
and 28 Weeks Later
28 Weeks Later
28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British/Spanish film sequel to the 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later. 28 Weeks Later was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and released in the United Kingdom and United States on 11 May 2007...
.. It is also referenced in Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
is to move the filming shows such as Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
and Crimewatch
Crimewatch
Crimewatch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC One...
to studios in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
and confirmed on 27 March 2009 that filming will be begin in 2011.
In 2010, Cardiff was used for filming of a contemporary update of Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
in Sherlock, and for a remake of Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
.