Status and Structure
The Broadcasting Act 1990 established Channel 4 as a statutory non-profit making corporation, the Channel Four Television Corporation, from 1 January 1993, to be licensed and regulated by the ITC. Previously Channel 4 had been, since 1980, a subsidiary company of the IBA/ITC. The service was launched in November 1982 to 87% of the UK. Coverage was increased by the IBA to 99.4% of the UK population by 1988.
Advertising
Until the end of 1992, the ITV companies had sold Channel 4 airtime in their own regions in return for an annual subscription determined by the IBA which financed the fourth channel service, with 80% for Channel 4 and 20% for S4C in Wales. Since 1993 Channel 4 has sold its own airtime in competition with the regional Channel 3 licensees. The Broadcasting Act 1990 established a system intended to support Channel 4 should revenue fall short. In the event revenue consistently exceeded the level that had been set and the system was discontinued after 1998.
Directors
Non-executive directors are appointed for fixed terms by the ITC following consultation with Channel 4’s chairman and the approval of the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Their fees are determined by the ITC. The current Chairman, Vanni Treves, was appointed in January 1998.
Programme Remit
The Broadcasting Act 1990 gives Channel 4 a specific remit requiring Channel 4 programmes to “contain a suitable proportion of matter calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for by Channel 3 and that innovation and experiment in the form and content of those programmes (should be) encouraged”. The Channel 4 service should also have a “distinctive character”. The Broadcasting Act requires Channel 4 to provide a public service for disseminating information, education and entertainment. Programmes must also maintain a high general standard and a wide range; provide a proportion of educational programmes, high quality news and current affairs and include proportions, which are European and are supplied by independent producers. This remit has been largely unchanged since the Broadcasting Act 1981.
Channel 4 Licence
The licence consists of general conditions, which follow the requirements of the Act, and an annex, which consists of a Statement of programme policy. Minimum hours per week are specified for programmes in the mandatory categories in the Act. These include high quality news (minimum 4 hours excluding breakfast news), current affairs (minimum 4 hours), educational programmes (minimum 7 hours), schools programmes (at least 330 hours a year in school hours) and religious programmes (about one hour) although the last is not a mandatory category.
Channel 4 has to provide S4C (the Welsh fourth channel) with programmes (free of charge) and with programme schedules. Channel 4 is subject to sanctions for breaches of its licence conditions. The Commission may direct the Corporation to broadcast an apology or correction, direct Channel 4 not to repeat a programme and may impose a fine of up to 3% of qualifying revenue or up to 5% if it is not the first time Channel 4 has been fined.
Licence Review
In 1998, Channel 4’s licence was revised. Among the revisions were: a new commitment to production outside London and to playing a central role within the UK film industry, an increase in commissioning original programmes, limits on the amount of repeat material and a new three hours a week minimum for multicultural programmes (ITC news release 19/98). The licence was renewed from 1 Jan 2003, the main change being a clarification of the channel’s responsibilities in relation to its new ventures.
Performance Review
In its annual performance review of Channel 4 for 2002, the ITC noted that Channel 4 maintained its share of all viewing at around 10%, increasing its proportion of younger viewers and of viewing in peaktime, a considerable achievement in a competitive environment. “Channel 4, despite serious financial pressures, still made by far the greatest contribution to diversity of any of the public service broadcasters”. The ITC added that “innovation, experimentation and risk become harder in a highly competitive market but the need for these to return to the heart of Channel 4’s planning and commissioning was a theme its new Chief Executive addressed in the McTaggart Lecture in 2002”. Channel 4 made a pre-tax loss of £28m in 2001 but drastic cost-cutting, including the loss of 300 jobs and the closure of the film production arm, turned this into a small profit in 2002, enabling the programme budget to be increased to £430m in 2003.
The number of programme interventions by the ITC in 2002 was ten but none of these was judged serious enough to merit a sanction and no programme attracted anywhere near the level of complaints of the Brass Eye Special on paedophilia in 2001 when around 1,000 were received.
In February 2003, Channel 4 published its third annual Statement of Promises outlining its objectives for the years 2003 and 2004. The Statement identified the channel’s two priorities as “securing its competitive performance in an increasingly deregulated market and giving greater clarity to the nature and scope of its public service remit ... Channel 4 needs commercial ambition to fulfil its cultural ambitions.” The channel confirmed its commitment to innovation and distinctiveness in peak, and promised to “make the most of our ability to take risks in all genres” and to “set aside slots for new voices and non conformist opinions in different genres”. Ethnic and cultural diversity would stay at the top of the agenda while the educational proposition would be strengthened through working more closely with 4Learning. The channel intended to be the catalyst for contemporary debate, offering an interrogative look at developments in Britain and abroad. Specifically, the biggest shift in 2003 would be the prominence and scope of contemporary drama, an area where the channel had disappointed in recent years.
Channel 4 and digital terrestrial television
The Broadcasting Act 1996 made available six digital terrestrial multiplexes. Existing terrestrial broadcasters were offered guaranteed capacity, with Channel 3, Channel 4 and public teletext sharing a multiplex, with the requirement that they simulcast their existing services.
Digital 3 and 4 Ltd (owned by Channel 4 and the ITV Association) were awarded the licence to run the multiplex in June 1997; for further information see ITC Note 40 (Digital).
Channel 4’s associated commercial activities
In 1998 FilmFour, a specialist subscription film channel, was launched. This was followed in January 2001 by E4, an entertainment channel, and in April 2001 by FilmFour World and FilmFour Extreme, two further film channels, available to subscribers to FilmFour. These channels were available on ITV Digital but are not carried by Freeview, a wholly free-to-air proposition. In 2003 Film Four World and Extreme were replaced by Film Four Weekly. A wide range of internet sites has also been set up, and Channel 4 also has a share in attheraces, a racing service. In May 2001 Channel 4 formally launched a new incorporated company, 4 Ventures Ltd, to manage all its film, learning and other new business activities.
Further References
ITC Publications
* ITC Library bibliography: Channel 4
Channel 4 licence. 1998, 2002.
Guidance note for the Channel 4 Television Corporation on sanctions. 1993.
ITC annual report and accounts 2002.
External Publications
Channel Four Television Corporation report and financial statements
The Channel 4 (Application of Excess Revenues) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/2915) London: Stationery Office, 1998
Channel 4 Focuses future development through 4 Ventures Ltd after record success in 2000 (Press Release, 1 May 2001)
June 2003
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