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The Channel 4 Remit
In 1980 The Broadcasting Act set out the remit (purpose) of the new channel:
- 'a suitable proportion of matter calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for by Channel 3 (ITV)...'
- 'a suitable proportion of programmes...of an educational nature...'
- It was also to: 'encourage innovation and experiment in the form and content of programmes and generally to give the channel a distinctive character of its own.'
- It was also stressed that: 'Channel 4 is provided as a public service for disseminating information, education and entertainment...'
Public Service
The Act also set out the public service requirements on C4. The Channel was expected to maintain the following standards:
- 'a high general standard... in respect of their content and quality'
- 'a wide range in their subject matter...'
- 'that a suitable proportion of Channel 4 programmes are of an educational nature'
- 'that a sufficient amount of time is given in Channel 4 programmes to news'
- 'programmes and current affairs programmes which are of high quality'
- 'that a proper proportion of the matter included in Channel 4 programmes is of European origin'
- 'a... prescribed percentage of... programmes on Channel 4 is allocated to the broadcasting of a range and diversity of independent productions.'
The ITC
Under the terms of the 1990 Broadcasting Act, C4 had to comply with the terms of a licence from the ITC (Independent Television Commission) and with the ITC Programme Code. The ITC Licence spelt out the remit in detailed terms.
As an example, the Broadcasting Act referred to: 'a suitable proportion of programmes of an educational nature'. The ITC specifically required 330 hours of schools programmes each year.
The ITC also required C4 to produce a yearly 'Statement of Programme Policy' that was effectively a set of promises against which C4's performance could be judged.
Ofcom
In 2003 the ITC was replaced by Ofcom, who promised to regulate 'with a lighter touch'.
C4 is still bound by the 1980 remit, but the details will no longer be set down in a Programme Code.
Instead the yearly 'Statement of Programme Policy' has become the detailed basis of the C4 remit. Ofcom has the power to reject or modify this statement if C4 is seen to be trying to avoid its public service role. Ofcom can also 'take back' the powers of detailed regulation if the Government see this to be necessary. Like the ITC, Ofcom can in the last resort withdraw C4's licence to broadcast.
Since 2004, Ofcom has conducted a yearly Public Service Review which examines the remit of PSP broadcasters such as C4. Recent reports have looked at both the future finances of C4 and its ability to move into a 'post digital switchover' era as well as its continuing remit to be 'distinctive and to experiment, innovate, educate and reach culturally diverse audiences freed from some of the restrictions on other commercial broadcasters'.
The 2007 Statement of Programme Policy is the place to look in order to see how C4 is now interpreting its remit.
The C4 Statement of Programme Policy 2007
The full document is available on the C4 website. Here is a brief summary, starting with an extract from the introduction, which stresses C4's overall strategy which is to retain C4's distinctive and independent character whilst embracing new technology.
"Whatever the pressures, Channel 4 in 2007 intends to buck ... competitive trends and to avoid taking the easy option. Channel 4 will offer programmes of contemporary relevance, with a wide range of new titles and series that aim to change people’s lives ... Continuing the corporate strategy initially set out in 2004, Channel 4 will extend the values of its remit across the digital channels More4, E4 and Film4 and in its new media services, without diminishing its core channel offer."
Kevin Lygo, 2007
In an overview of programme policy, C4's priorities are given as:
• Challenging political, social and ethical subject matter
• Strong and distinctive authorship
• Support for new talent
• New formats and cross-genre initiatives
Challenging political, social and ethical subject matter
'Channel 4 will focus on major domestic and international political, social and ethical issues, often taking a provocative stance that no other broadcaster would adopt.'
Strong and distinctive authorship
'Channel 4 will showcase powerful voices and authors on and off screen.'
Support for new talent
'There will be a strong focus on new talent, with a range of new talent strands across the schedule as well as off-screen initiatives.'
New formats and cross-genre initiatives
'While we expect our portfolio of new media services to generate commercial returns to be returned to the core channel, we will also use new media platforms to launch entirely new services with PSB values and to offer viewers new ways to access Channel 4’s output..'
Programme offer
When the 'statement of programme policy' gives details of the types of programmes that will be produced, it stresses the importance of C4's public service role in the modern TV marketplace and its investment in digital technology.
In News: 'Channel 4 News will continue to have a highly international agenda...The Channel 4 newsroom will be completely re-equipped, as part of our continuing efforts to improve quality in all aspects of our service.'
In Current Affairs: '...we will continue to address the most important domestic and international issues, and will increase further the volume of our peaktime output, as well as launching major new online services.'
In Education and Schools programmes: 'The core channel will commit £75 million to education programmes in 2007, with a big proportion of these in peaktime...We will also extend our distribution on different platforms; in particular, Channel 4’s Education programmes will increasingly be available through our new video on-demand service, to make them as accessible as possible.'
Other promises of programme distinctiveness are made relating to: science and history, religion, social issues. international coverage, drama, comedy and entertainment, arts and music, sport and leisure interests.
New Media becomes a very important priority in achieving all the objectives laid out in C4's overall strategy:
'Channel 4 will continue to invest heavily in new media, driving both commercial innovation and public service initiatives. Overall we will increase our investment in new media to £22 million. The launch of E4.com and a mobile TV service will develop the E4 brand into a pan platform entertainment network. The new 4oD video on-demand service will also expand its activities: in particular, we will seek to make it available on more platforms, offer more archive content, and improve the user interface and functionality of the stand-alone PC application. There will be improved automated programme support in all genres. There will also be a major re-design of our main website channel4.com, including the development of a suite of web 2.0 tools for use across Channel 4 sites.
The Public Service Review
In 2004 Ofcom accepted that C4 would soon come under increasing financial and creative pressure as its advertising revenues begin to fall.
'... Channel 4 would face flat profit margins for its broadcast operations over the majority of the period 2004-12. It suffers from the erosion of audiences for the five terrestrial channels by multi-channel services... As a result, Channel 4 would face a major challenge in fulfilling its remit for innovative, experimental and distinctive programming... The programme genres that would come under the greatest pressure would probably include drama, comedy, arts & performance and current affairs.'
Looking to the Future of Public Service Television Broadcasting,
30 September 2004, Ofcom.
Ofcom, however, expected C4 to cope with this funding gap by using its commercial expertise: 'through further operational efficiencies and market-based initiatives, such as increased cross-subsidies from its commercial ventures.'
Ofcom does not suggest that C4 should be privatised or lose its 'not for profit' financial status. Some public funding might be offered to C4 if market-based solutions didn't work, 'such as the transfer of income-generating assets from the BBC to Channel 4.' These assets might be some of the BBC's publishing or Educational services.
All these quotations come from: The Ofcom review of public service television broadcasting, Phase 2 - Meeting the digital challenge (2004)
Financial Review
In June 2007, Ofcom completed a financial review of Channel 4. In the report Ofcom agreed that C4 faced 'increased financial pressures in the medium-term' and whilst it concluded that 'further public support for Channel 4 should be ruled out for the foreseeable future', the report did recommend that limited ‘safety net’ measures could be put in place if C4 was unable to operate within its remit. Ofcom is now monitoring Channel 4's financial performance and its public service delivery more carefully in case a 'safety net' is needed. It was stressed, however, that it is not Ofcom's role to make decisions about C4's future. This is a decision that the Government must take in the near future.
"We believe that it will be important for Government to make decisions about Channel 4’s future role in the context of a wider strategy for the delivery of PSB in a digital age."
Public Service Broadcasting after digital switchover
In July 2006 Ofcom issued a report which considered the future of PSB in the digital era. Their conclusions were of particular concern to commercial PSB providers such as C4.
"..the PSB Review identified that changes in the market are threatening the established PSB system – the move from analogue to digital, and consequently multi-channel television may mean it is no longer realistic to expect commercial broadcasters to deliver significant PSB obligations due to their fragmenting audience base. As such, PSB provision from commercially-funded organisations is under potential threat."
As audiences (particularly younger viewers) 'fragment' by leaving terrestial TV channels for digital channels or broadband, the 'broadcasting' part of Public Service Broadcasting begins to be less and less relevant. In the medium term, broadcasters can 'follow their audiences' by developing new digital services such a 'view on demand.'
'These changes could result in radical changes in the broadcasting environment. Given the rapid pace of change in the market in the last two years, by the completion of digital switchover, VoD could represent a substantial proportion of viewing, with important consequences for the strategies and business models of the major broadcasters in terms of scheduling, content, advertising and other revenues.'
This diversification strategy is what informs the current C4 programme policy and is welcomed by Ofcom.
"The Phase 3 Report... welcomed in principle, Channel 4’s ambition to extend its PSB role across new channels and media platforms.”
However, in the long term there may be a change in the way that public service content is provided, a move from a 'PSB' model to a 'PSP' model.
A New Public Service Publisher
"New media forms of PSB provision: Over the 70 year history of PSB in the UK, the launch of new services and organisations at key moments has resulted in the injection of new creativity and dynamism in PSB, and has also strengthened the system overall. And so in the digital age a new institution may provide a new source of innovation and also plurality into the new world post-switchover. The PSB Review argued that future plural PSB provision may require the establishment of a new PSB provider – notionally described as the Public Service Publisher."
Potentially the most worrying Ofcom proposal for C4 is the creation of an entirely new form of 'Public Service Publisher.'
One idea for such an organisation would be to produce an 'Arts Council of the Air' that would award public funding for PSB programmes irrespective of who produced them. Ofcom have rejected this option as too unwieldy and bureaucratic. An alternative proposal is to create a 'PSP' that would commission digital media in the same way that Channel 4 commissioned TV programmes in the early 1980s.
'Just as Channel 4, in its early years, had guaranteed funding and a remit to pursue public purposes with innovative ideas, we believe a new PSP could be created with similar ambitions for the digital age.'
This 'broad-band C4' could:
- Commission independent producers to create innovative electronic media content.
- Make sure that this content reflected PSB purposes.
- Ensure that the content created was promoted, branded and widely distributed.
- NOT be based in London.
The right to set up and run the PSP would be awarded after competition between rival organisations. The winning bidder would operate for a ten-year licence period, which like the BBC Charter, would be reviewed every five years.
The BBC would be excluded from the competition. Broadcasters such as Channel 4, ITV and Channel Five would be allowed to bid, however.
The PSP could be funded from an increased licence fee, general taxation, or a special tax on commercial broadcasters.
This is only one of a number of possible 'operating models' for PSP that is currently being discussed.
The creation of a PSP is not certain to happen, but if C4 Chief Executive Andy Duncan is to 'future proof' the channel in the way he wants, there will really have to be a great deal of 'innovation and new talent' in evidence at C4 before the next PSB Review in 2009. C4 will also have to negotiate a tricky balancing act between maintaining profits, producing high quality programming and investing in new media platforms.
Links
The C4 Statement of Programme Policy
www.channel4.com/about4/programmepolicy.html
Ofcom Public Service Review
www.Ofcom.org.uk/tv/psb_review/
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