A famous man once said that boredom was the greatest enemy. Channel 4's role in life is to fight that never-ending battle against boredom, and make life in Britain intrinsically more interesting. I believe it has succeeded in that task for every one of its 25 years of existence.

Unquestionably 2007 was an eventful year for us - and not just because we celebrated our quarter century anniversary. We showed many outstanding programmes, but like all major broadcasters we suffered much criticism - some of it deserved. We have learned from the mistakes made over Celebrity Big Brother and the use of premium-rate phone contests, and I believe these problems will not recur. And we started to experience real financial pressure on our business model, as our accounts show.

Despite these issues, we are determined to reaffirm Channel 4's values: distinctive television from a range of diverse voices, offering fresh perspectives on the world. To that end, in March 2008 we launched a new vision for the future, to remind stakeholders what we are for and what we can do.

Meanwhile, we continue every week to commission television that matters, that is different, that stirs public debate, and is of a remarkable range and quality. Across the 4 network we transmit 260 documentaries a year, including the award-winning Dispatches, Unreported World and Cutting Edge strands. That alone is a remarkable achievement. We make ground-breaking new youth drama like Skins. We show compelling reality TV like Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. We back stunning films at Film4 like This is England. We commission extraordinary one-off programmes like Deep Water and Longford. We schedule bold seasons like our Lost for Words season on child literacy. We pioneer new comedy like Modern Toss and The IT Crowd. No one else will do all this.

Television is at heart a mass medium, and it works in society and for advertisers because it has impact. But audiences are fragmenting. In the digital age, public service broadcasters have a greater challenge than ever before: they need to constantly balance the desire to show important but difficult programmes with more popular fare. The online revolution means the competition for eyeballs and advertisers is more intense than ever. We have to work harder and harder to attract audiences and find original ideas that will make compelling viewing.

In 2007, the organisation continued to broaden its offerings across not just Channel 4, E4, More4 and Film4, but with a new catch-up channel in Channel 4+1. We led a consortium which won the new DAB multiplex, and increased our investment in online services.

The Board believes the stakeholders of Channel 4 - the Government, Ofcom, the viewers, the independent producers, the staff - need to agree a new formula for the future. We need a revised remit, which reflects today's media universe. We need a funding mechanism to replace the diminishing value of our gifted spectrum. And we need the continued freedom to champion television that questions, that provokes, that entertains, and that sparkles. Above all, Channel 4 must be allowed to transmit shows that are opinionated and irreverent, and occasionally a little dangerous. That is what a modern democracy is about - free speech. We help keep the BBC honest, and maintain a vigorous plurality of public service provision, which I believe is so important in the complicated world of the 21st century.