ITN Scoops £100m Channel 4 News Deal
Channel 4 has extended its contract for news programming with ITN for a further five years, guaranteeing production of its award-winning Channel 4 News to the end of 2010.
The new contract is worth over £100 million, encompassing news content across Channel 4 and More4. The new agreement also covers new media activities such as online and mobile services.
As part of the extended deal, a new news bureau will be opened in Beijing, as well as the recruitment of extra journalists across Africa, the Middle and the Far East and a new Foreign Affairs specialist.
In total more than 20 new positions will be created by the contract, with “significant investment” also being ploughed into a new newsroom at ITN’s London headquarters.
The near future will see the ITN team relaunch channel4.com/news to enable “in-depth, interactive news online,” including features such as an enhanced Factcheck service, allowing users to monitor the factual and statistical accuracy of public speakers.
The new-look online news bulletins will also feature interactive maps, timelines and links to previous articles. Channel 4 promises interactivity across its online news, with surveys to support bulletins and a personal touch from anchorman Jon Snow, who will continue his Snowmail email service and his weekly podcasts. New commentators will also join the Channel 4 News blogging team.
An increased focus on mobile technology will also see the launch of a mobile TV service, with four 90 second bulletins updated throughout the day. Each bulletin will be presented by one of the Channel 4 News team, with coverage of three to four of the day’s top stories.
Announcing the new contract, Kevin Lygo, Channel 4’s director of television, said: “Channel 4 News is the public service cornerstone of our schedule providing an intelligent and analytical take on the day’s events while remaining as fresh and contemporary as Jon Snow’s ties.
“In addition to putting new resource into our bulletins, this deal will place Channel 4 News at the forefront of the channel’s continuing push into new media.”
Mark Wood, chief executive of ITN, added: “The new five-year deal recognises the continuing strength and vibrancy of our partnership which is built around the UK’s outstanding news and current affairs programme. It also creates a framework for developing many new ways of delivering Channel 4 News content to our audiences across all platforms in a rapidly changing digital world.”
The new media extensions catered for in the new ITN contract mirror Channel 4’s stated intention to focus on emerging media platforms. Last month saw the broadcaster hire brand consultancy Branded to shape its long-term strategy ahead of a push into video on-demand and mobile media (see Channel 4 Strategy To Push VOD And Mobile).
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