Channel 4 Welcomes Ofcom’s Support

Channel 4 has welcomed the Government media watchdog Ofcom’s strong endorsement of the channel’s public service role and future strategy, as stated in the much anticipated Public Service Broadcasting Review, published earlier today.

Responding to the report, Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4 said: “This report contains everything that Channel 4 was asking for. Ofcom has underlined the increasingly crucial role that Channel 4 will play in the future provision of high-quality public service broadcasting in this country and has shown strong support for our strategy of strengthening and extending our unique public service contribution across all media platforms.

He continued: “Crucially, the report also explicitly recognises that increased competitive pressures will mean that Channel 4 is likely to face a funding problem in the mid to long-term and gives a clear commitment to help us address our forecast funding gap.”

Channel 4 is pleased with Ofcom’s recommendation that the Government should consider funding the one-off transitional cost associated with digital switchover. However, the broadcaster has stated that it never said it was facing a short-term funding problem and has made clear that this option would only be a last resort if the broadcaster continued to face a deficit after forms of indirect support had been exhausted.

Duncan said: “We are not asking for support to begin immediately’, but for ‘mechanisms to begin to be put in place’ for when they are needed.”

Ofcom has committed itself to review Channel 4’s financial situation in 2006/7, rather than wait for the proposed public service broadcaster review in 2010.

Last week, Channel 4 announced a restructuring of its commercial arm, 4 Ventures, in an attempt to increase profits from its secondary business activities. Andy Duncan unveiled plans to reintegrate a number of 4 Ventures’ activities back into the core Channel 4 organisation, and retain a streamlined commercial arm to focus on Channel 4’s new media and rights businesses.