Earlier this week a collection of high profile media stars released an open letter to David Cameron, warning him that his plans to reform the BBC will damage Britain in the long run.

The signatories – including JK Rowling, Judi Dench Daniel Craig – claim that “a diminished BBC would simply mean a diminished Britain”. However, many doubt whether the warning will have any affect on government policy.

While the letter is couched in the future, the effects of austerity on the national broadcaster are very much in the present. Austerity has arrived and its affects are very real and very cutting.

A shrinking budget has already hamstringed BBC Wales – the regional broadcaster for the country – and brought it to the edge of collapse.

The BBC Audience Council for Wales – the organisation tasked with scrutinising the BBC – detailed the extent of the changes in a recent report. It alleges funding to the broadcaster has been cut by a quarter since 2007 – the biggest decrease in budget of any of the Celtic nations.

The Council implored the BBC Executives to act over twelve months ago but have observed little response. The report reads:

“There has been no improvement in relation to English language TV from Wales for Wales, and the cuts have brought BBC Wales’ TV provision closer to the cliff edge.”

Alongside a damning account of funding for the broadcaster, the Council criticised the portrayal of Wales in BBC productions. The last drama or comedy programmes set in Wales were Gavin and Stacey and Torchwood. The former ended in 2010 and the latter in 2011.

Additionally, the broadcaster’s dedicated Welsh language channel S4C is already in freefall. Its viewership has fallen by 24,000 over the past year and now totals only 131,000 weekly viewers.

A diminished BBC Wales is diminished language

It’s not just the media landscape that stands to lose from broadcasting cutbacks. Few people will learn a language without a means to use and enjoy it. BBC Wales provides a space to do just this.

We previously wrote about the success of the Manx language, which made huge gains after investing in modern technology and television. If they had relied on a more traditional approach, it’s likely the language’s resurgence would have petered out during its infancy.

The collapse of BBC Wales will be detrimental to the status and usage of the Welsh language. That much is sure.

A digital future

The future is not entirely pessimistic though. BBC Wales’ digital services in the Welsh language more than doubled its reach to 89,000 over the last year. Interestingly, the equivalent English language services saw a fall in users over the same period.

BBC Wales director Rhodri Talfan Davies has already identified this as a particular strength and is pointing the broadcaster towards a digital future. He has set out four priorities for the broadcaster moving forward.

Improving the portrayal of Wales on English language channels

on English language channels Extending and strengthening the coverage of Welsh news

Moving to a digital first approach

approach Reflecting an increasingly diverse Wales

Like many cash-strapped organisations, BBC Wales is looking to the web as a means to increase coverage and decrease costs. Whether it works remains to be seen but we will surely be there to cover it.