Huw Edwards has been given a six-month suspended sentence for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.
The former BBC presenter had pleaded guilty to three counts of "making" indecent images of children.
Westminster Magistrates' Court in London heard how Edwards paid up to £1,500 (€1,779) to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.
Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.
Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court Edwards had been assessed as posing a "medium risk of causing serious harm to children".
Sentencing him, Judge Paul Goldspring told Edwards his "reputation is now in tatters".
WhatsApp chat
The disgraced Welsh broadcaster was sent the illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams over WhatsApp.
Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police - receiving a 12-month suspended sentence.
The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a film featuring a young boy, with Williams telling Edwards the child was "quite young looking" and that he had more images which were illegal.
The relevant images range from the most serious category, known as category A, to the least serious, known as category C.
They include seven category A images, 12 category B images, and 22 category C images.
During his four decades at the BBC, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams covering historic events including the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Last week, BBC chairman Samir Shah admitted the 63-year-old had "damaged" the reputation of the corporation.
The BBC is attempting to recover an estimated £200,000 (€237,278) in pay from Edwards, who continued to be paid a salary for around five months after the corporation discovered he had been arrested in November 2023.
Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, England for sentencing, 16-9-24. Image: PA Images / AlamyEdwards resigned from the BBC in April citing medical advice.
According to the UK's Crown Prosecution Service, "making" an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts.
It can range from opening an attachment containing an image in an email, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic "pop-up" mechanism.
In the case of Edwards, he received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation.
Edwards' barrister Philip Evans said his client had not "created" the images "in the traditional sense of the word".
Reporting by: IRN
