Getting to grips with the TV and Film industry.

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British broadcaster which was first aired in 1982. It is a cross- Media company as it has different sectors in Television programmes, Music and Radio. It is a publicly owned television company, it is owned by Channel 4 Television Corporation. In 2010, Channel 4 became a UK wide TV channel for the first time. Channel 4 was created to add a fourth television channel to the UK. Channel 4 was added to our channels, along with BBC’s two services and the commercial broadcasting network, ITV. Channel 4 has a remit in which it must fulfil certain public service obligations such as demonstrating creativity; appeal to culturally diverse society; exhibit a distinctive character, as well as an obligation to provide programmes for school and a substantial amount of filming outside of Greater London. As channel 4 is an organisation, it is known as Channel 4 Television Corporation (C4C) however this form is more recent than the station itself as it used to be known as Channel Four Television Company Limited. In the beginning of the 1980's, the government decided a drastic change was needed in the television industry, so this then went on to be written into Broadcasting Act 1990. This meant the closing down of IBA, hence the Channel Four Television Company. During Channel Fours formative years, funding came from the ITV Companies, in return for their right to advertise their products/channels in their region on the fourth channel. However nowadays Channel Four pretty much pays for itself by things such as; on air advertising, programme sponsorship and the sale of any programme content that the channel owns the rights of, such as overseas sales and video sales. Channel Four also have rights to use funds from their other channels such as Film4 and E4. However these activities actually turned out to be loss making - In 2005 the extent of this cross - subsidy was around £30 million. The funding method changed when the Broadcasting Act 1990 was formed, the new company was given the ability to fund itself, at the time this was thought of as a 'safety net' which guaraunteed the minimum income if the revenue was to fall too low. In 2007, due to funding difficulties, Channel Four sought government help and was granted a payment of £14 million over a period of six years - the money would have come from the television license fee and would have been the first time the money would have been given to any television company other than the BBC, This plan was abandoned by The Secretary of State and Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham.