Channel 4 reporting and Ofcom’s Statement of Media Content Policy (SMCP) Responses

As a consequence of the Media Act, we have updated our guidance for how Channel Four Corporation’s (C4C) should set out how it intends to deliver on its obligations and report on its performance on an annual basis. C4C: 

• must set out how it plans to meet its remit and certain licence conditions through an annual Statement of Programme Policy (SoPP). In the following year C4C must report on its delivery of these plans.  
• must set out how it plans to deliver its media content duties through an annual Statement of Media Content Policy (SMCP), which it must prepare at the same time as its SoPP. It must also report on its delivery of these plans in the following year.  
• may fulfil its SoPP and SMCP planning and reporting requirements through a Combined Plan and Combined Review if it wishes.  
• is also required to prepare an annual Statement of Commissioning Policy (SoCP) at the same time as its SMCP. The SoCP must set out both C4C’s proposals for discharging its duties in relation to fair competition for commissions, in the year ahead and report on its performance against the proposals set out in the previous statement. 

Each year, Ofcom publishes a response to Channel Four Television Corporation’s (C4C) Statement of Media Content Policy (SMCP) comprised of a published CEO letter and report on C4C’s performance. While Ofcom is not under a statutory obligation to provide this response, it does so to support transparency and provide a regular independent, public assessment of C4C’s delivery of its remit and duties. 

Ofcom’s latest SMCP Response 

Under the Communications Act 2003, C4C must prepare an annual statement of media content policy (SMCP) setting out its plans for meeting its media content duties in the coming year and reporting on its performance over the past year. This document represents Ofcom’s response to the 2025 SMCP, setting out our views on the delivery of C4C’s remit and duties over the past year as well as its future strategy.