YNOT EUROPE – S4/C, the fifth oldest broadcast television network in the UK and the first to aim at a Welsh-speaking audience, has come under fire for planning a season that will include documentaries about Welsh adult performer Sophie Dee and drag queen Tina Sparkle as well as a series about cage fighting.

Critics are calling a list of programs S4/C commissioned to air beginning in March 2012 “courting trash TV” and “desperate.”

“This looks like a last, desperate attempt to pick up new viewers, presumably from [Ultimate Fighting Championship] channel and [all-adult] Channel X,” an unidentified broadcast insider told Wales Online. “The more worrying point is that those in charge at S4/C clearly don’t understand what the channel really needs if it is to restore its good name. In a future of scarce resources, how would you fancy proving your worth to [Culture Secretary] Jeremy Hunt and Parliament with Sophie Dee beside you?”

Part of the problem with S4/C’s programming for 2012, according to politicians, is that the network receives approximately £94 million annually in taxpayer funding. As part of the network’s charter, it is required to produce programming of educational and/or cultural value. UK lawmakers and ministers seem equally split about whether a porn documentary qualifies as either.

“S4/C has a public-service obligation to provide comprehensive programming that should, at times, be thought-provoking and questioning,” Shadow Minister for Welsh Language and Culture Suzy Davies told Wales Online. “However, many viewers will rightly question whether documentaries about hardcore pornography, funded by taxpayers, are a priority for public interest and likely to appeal to a wide audience.

“In an increasingly competitive digital age, S4/C should be seeking to broaden its appeal to Welsh speakers and learners to further cement its position as a leading player in the Welsh media,” she added.

On the other side of the issue, Welsh Liberal Democrat Heritage spokesman Peter Black said politicians would do better to let S4/C and its viewers decide how cultural tax dollars should be used in Wales.

“My view is that it is not the role of politicians to dictate to TV companies what programs they choose to air,” he told Wales Online. “S4/C is heavily regulated, and no doubt anybody who takes offense at this program will take advantage of that to make complaints to the appropriate body.”

Some have indicated a “wait-and-see” approach is the only appropriate response.

“I don’t know yet what kind of film S4/C is planning to make [about Dee],” Plaid Cymru Heritage spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins told Wales Online. “If it is designed to be titillating — a kind of lads mag approach — then that would be a complete waste of public money. On the other hand, a serious-minded, journalistic inquiry into the adult entertainment industry is well within the remit of a channel committed to providing a quality view of the world.”

Dee, a 27-year-old native of Llanelli, Wales, who now lives in California with her husband, fellow porn star Lee Bang, certainly seems an appropriate subject for Soph Porn, which an S4/C spokesperson described as one in a series of documentaries “about people who lead interesting and successful lives in different fields.” The redhead with startling blue eyes has appeared in more than 300 adult movies since she entered the industry in 2005 and has received a number of industry awards and awards nominations. She also recently crossed the porn-mainstream divide with roles in two indie horror flicks lensed in the U.S.

So far, S4/C shows no signs of backing away from Soph Porn.

“We have noted clearly in our Vision 2012 our aim to provide interesting, diverse and exciting programs and content which explore and reflect all aspects of Welsh life,” the S4/C spokesperson noted in a prepared statement. “We will offer content that is original, inventive and attractive. At times we will offer material that is challenging and contemporary, and this means that we will have to push the boundaries and take risks.

“[Soph Porn] is only one of dozens of commissioned programs for the 2012 schedule which reflect the breadth of creativity, talent and experience in the production sector. Our remit as a public service broadcaster and a Welsh-language channel [requires us to provide] a service that will offer a variety of quality content for viewers and users from different backgrounds, age groups and areas.”