S4C Sport
Encyclopedia
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 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...
and Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
, to broadcast matches from the Magners League, which it does under the Y Clwb Rygbi
Y Clwb Rygbi
Y Clwb Rygbi is a rugby union television programme shown on Welsh language channel S4C. Produced by BBC Cymru Wales, the show is amongst the most popular programmes shown on S4C.-Format:...
brand. The Saturday night coverage starts at 6pm, with the match kicking off around 30 minutes later. The matches involve at least one Welsh regional team in them. Games are also shown on selected Sundays at 5pm during the season. S4C also have the rights to live matches from the LV= Cup and the conclusion of the Konica Minolta Cup and the Principality Premiership
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union for the 1990–91 season.-Competition history:...
at club level, as well as the Welsh Autumn Internationals and Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
at international level. Highlights of the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
are also shown. BBC 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, as well as action from the French Top 14 in Le Rygbi.
Rugby League
S4C began its second foray into rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
in June 2007, when they broadcast four Celtic Crusaders matches live starting with the home match against Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders are an English professional rugby league team from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who are coached by Dave Clark. Formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club, the club is the oldest of the current professional sports teams in Cumbria....
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 national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
' 1995 Rugby League World Cup matches
1995 Rugby League World Cup
The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact that 1995 marked the 100th birthday of the sport...
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 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, and highlights of Welsh internationals, as Sky SportsSky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
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, Bundesliga and Premiera Liga. The programme is broadcast on Tuesday nights, usually at 10 pm.
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 festival is also broadcast as well as highlights programmes from meetings at Aberystwyth, Caersws and Boughrood.Rallying
Due to the Wales Rally GB, S4C bid for and successfully won rights to broadcast highlights from each event of the World Rally ChampionshipWorld Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
. Coverage is shown the Thursday after the event.