Channel 4 has announced that just six cities remain in the running for its new National HQ and two Creative Hubs, out of 13 UK cities invited back for the second pitching process.
The second pitch involved Channel 4 teams visiting each shortlisted city for a presentation and discussion, following which seven cities – including Belfast, Brighton and Liverpool – failed to make the cut.
Still in the running for a National HQ or Creative Hub are Birmingham, Greater Manchester and Leeds; meanwhile, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow are being considered for a Creative Hub only.
The new hubs are central to the compromise reached between the commercial broadcaster and the Government back in March, whereby it keeps its London headquarters in exchange for significant investment across other regions of the UK – including a new, multi-site operating model.
4 All the UK also includes a commitment from Channel 4 to increase its Nations & Regions content spend from 35% to a new voluntary target of 50% by 2023, following industry feedback that increasing spend would have the greatest impact on regional economies and jobs.
The advanced negotiations will be led by Channel 4’s chief commercial officer, Jonathan Allan, who believes the six selected cities are “best able to deliver against our vision and requirement” for the new hubs.
“Our visits to the 13 shortlisted cities over the last month were incredibly inspiring and I’d like to thank all of those involved for the huge amounts of creativity they demonstrated and the excitement for Channel 4 and what we could achieve together,” he said.
“The National HQ and Creative Hubs are only one part of our ‘4 All the UK’ plan, which has at its heart, a commitment to significantly increase our Nations and Regions content spend by £250 million over the next five years. We therefore look forward to working closely with all those cities and regions that have been involved in the pitch process, as we look to catalyse that spend and support digital and production companies right across the UK.”
Channel 4 will now enter into detailed discussions with the six selected cities over the summer; the final locations for the new hubs will be announced in the autumn.
