A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION
Channel 4 has cut programme spending –
again like other broadcasters – over the past
decade. Spending on the main channel fell in
real terms from £638million in 2006 to £492
million in 2014. 182 It has shifted some of its
genre priorities; it no longer does much in
the way of arts programming, for example.
In its most recent review of public service
broadcasting, Ofcom found Channel 4’s
provision of content for older children (aged
10 to 14), for which it has a duty under its
remit, to be “limited”, and that its approach
“will not contribute to the amount of UK
programme made specifically for children” 183 .
In its recent response to Channel 4’s
statement of media policy, Ofcom returned
to the issue, urging the organisation to show
how its strategy was having an impact, and
how it might play a greater role in providing
older children with “an alternative, distinct
voice to the output provided by the BBC”.
184
Channel 4 made just 12 hours of first-run
originated programmes for older children
last year, and only 16 hours in the education
genre targeting young adults (those aged 14
to 19). 185
The growth of on-demand viewing presents
Channel 4 with arguably a fiercer threat than
that faced by other broadcasters because
of its appeal to 16-34-year-olds, whose
viewing habits are changing fastest. 186 But the
company has responded impressively, with
more than half of 16-34-year-olds registered
with the All4 on-demand service. 187 As linear
viewing gives way to on-demand viewing,
Channel 4’s EPG prominence will become a
less potent advantage, putting strain on the
deal whereby it meets various targets set out
in its main channel’s licence.
Channel 4, independent
producers, and the television
ecology
Channel 4’s role as a patron of the
independent television production sector
has been a crucial part of its contribution to
the television ecology in the UK. It created
a market for independent production in the
1980s, and went way beyond its original
blueprint in this respect. It was originally
expected that the vast majority of its
programmes would come from the ITV
companies, but around 60% of commissions
ahead of its launch were from the
independent sector. 188 Today all of Channel 4’s
programmes are externally produced. 189 It also
runs a growth fund that invests in small and
medium-sized independent companies.
Meanwhile, the independent production
sector rapidly professionalised and went from
strength to strength. What started out as
182
Ofcom, Review of the operation of the television production sector, 2015, p. 16.
183
Ofcom, Public Service Broadcasting in the Internet Age: Ofcom’s Third Review of Public Service Broadcasting, 2015, p. 13.
184
Ofcom, Response to Channel 4 Corporation’s Statement of Media Content Policy, 2016. See the remarks by the chairman and chief executive in their
covering letter, p2, and the detail on pp. 13-15.
185
These figures – for the whole Channel 4 portfolio – were at least better than the 4 hours of programmes for older children and the 9 hours of
education programmes broadcast in 2014. Channel Four Television Corporation Report and Financial Statements 2015, p. 20.
186
Last year, Channel 4’s portfolio of channels had a 16.5% share among 16-34-year-olds, compared with 10.6% of the overall audience. The BBC
and ITV’s share among this demographic is lower than their overall audience share; Channel 5’s is roughly the same. See Channel Four Television
Corporation Report and Financial Statements 2015, p. 36.
187
A total of 13.1m viewers (of all ages) had signed up to All4 by the end of 2015. See Channel Four Television Corporation Report and Financial
Statements 2015, p. 10.
188
Brown, A Licence to Be Different, pp. 50-51.
189
It is not allowed to produce the programmes it broadcasts “except to such extent as Ofcom may allow”. Communications Act 2003, section 295 (1).
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