The man from the Beeb

no.10- lan gwyn hughes

Red Passion says a big ‘Hello’ to BBC Wales commentator Ian Gwyn Hughes

Background: He’s the man who personifies BBC Wales Sport

Setting: Red Passion saves up for a telephone call to Cardiff. When we phone we’re told that Ian is away. We leave a message and - good guy that he is - Ian phones back. He says why not interview me here and now? So we do…

Tell us a bit about your background...
‘I was born in Colwyn Bay and went to Old Colwyn High School. I studied History and International Politics at Aberystwyth and I knew I wanted get into sports journalism. I had some contacts at Radio Merseyside and City Radio but there was nothing doing there really. I moved down to Cardiff - where I met my wife - and saw an advert for some work at the BBC.

How did your career progress?
“In 1982 I started at the BBC in general sports programming and did some work in front of the mike and in presenting. In 1991 I became BBC Wales Football Correspondent and in 1997 Football Editor on the TV side. I presented Wales on Saturday and I did any commentaries we got on BBC Wales - whether League of Wales, Welsh Premier Cup or internationals. As Football Editor I was involved with Gol, all the Welsh language output and, more generally, responsible for all our football content.”

You’re a Welsh-speaker - tell us about the issue of the language and sports broadcasting…
“Well, the BBC has to provide - by law - a certain amount of hours of sports coverage for S4C. It’s the law of the land - and that explains the existence of Gol and Welsh-language coverage of other football, rugby and snooker. Bizarrely though, S4C outbid the BBC for Welsh domestic rugby - when, actually, they could have got it for nothing. The BBC still has the Internationals and European Cup rugby for the next four years.”

How important is Welsh-language work for you personally?
“It’s my first language so it’s obviously very important. I do have a dilemma though. I love Gol - it’s a great programme - and I love working with people like Dai Davies, but the reality of the situation is that 80 per cent of Welsh viewers can’t understand the programme because it’s in Welsh. It doesn’t bother me either way, but I know that my work in English can reach a far wider audience - and thus, for me, the adrenalin does flow a bit more. But to be honest I get a buzz from broadcasting and commentating whatever the language! In personal terms the language is also very important - I’m glad, for example, that my children speak Welsh.”

Tell us about the BBC and the Welsh Premier Cup…
“The BBC wanted to have the best possible control over a competition - to cover all the games, to show games live, and to get good TV audiences. The chance eventually came. The BBC put £100,000 into the tournament and was obviously hoping that a European place would come for the winner as well - that would have been a bonus. We wanted the final to be a big day out for everyone.”

What’s your verdict so far?
“Obviously there are stories about a European place being granted - but there are also other variables: the BBC’s long-term commitment to the competition, the future of the Welsh Cup, and the attitude of the professional clubs, and the League of Wales clubs, to the Premier Cup. I think the key issue is the European place. If you could imagine Wrexham playing Celtic in the UEFA Cup - as a result of Wrexham winning the Premier Cup - that would give the competition massive credibility.”

What about the professional clubs’ attitude to the Premier Cup?
“Well, I think it’s all about fans having an incentive to go to matches. It doesn’t help when clubs field under-strength sides but it’s something we’ve got to live with. Clubs’ marketing of the competition is also very poor. I’m amazed at the reluctance to advertise and market games. What about free tickets for kids, for example?”

So, your overall view?
“I’d defend the Premier Cup. The viewing figures are good. There seems to be a lot of interest in the competition - and the ratings stats do show that it compares favourably with other things. To be honest though, I don’t think three years is a long-enough period in which to judge the success or otherwise of the competition. It’s got to get up and going before we start judging it. In the first season I think people weren’t sure about it; in the second I think teams like Wrexham were taking it seriously. It’s difficult though when you’re dealing with crowds of 500 people. But I think it would still be accurate to say that the competition has benefited all the League of Wales clubs who have taken part in terms of both finance and just general exposure. Before we ran the competition for the first time we went round all the clubs and explained to them the rationale behind it - basically, to help improve Welsh football and to raise its profile. I suppose we were hoping for some assistance in terms of sponsorship but long-term we thought two things might happen: facilities up and down the country would be improved and the gap between League of Wales and Nationwide football would become smaller. The crux of the matter was always going to be the question of a European place - and that’s obviously still up in the air.”

How do you respond to the view that says that if the BBC was serious about Welsh football it should have invested its £100,000 in the League of Wales?
“My personal view is that the League of Wales has two main problems: it’s too big and it’s not yet got its own house in order. For example, we’ve often asked if the League would move some fixtures to Friday nights. Basically, we think that night matches have more appeal than daytime matches - they look more of a spectacle and, to be honest, the darkness can also hide the fact that there isn’t a massive crowd. Well, many of the League of Wales have been very unwilling to change and adapt to fit in with what we’d like. I personally feel that regular Friday night games would be a worthwhile experiment - but the clubs haven’t cooperated. So, I think everybody’s got to work together and that, ultimately, the aim should be a 10-team league - to include the Newport, Merthyr and Colwyn Bay. At the moment the reality of the situation is that even clubs like Cwmbran and Inter Cardiff - who’ve been quite successful - have attracted crowds of less than 100 people.”

Thanks a lot Ian - Cheers RP