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 To ensure Channel 4's process of responding to queries is as efficient as possible, we have posted some of the more frequently asked questions received by the Channel 4 Freedom of Information team here. How many hits does the Channel 4 FOI website get? Celebrity Big Brother 2007 - How is the vote monitored? Celebrity Big Brother 2007 - How is money raised for charity? Can you give me the viewing figures for a particular programme? Does Channel 4 have a list of preferred suppliers? Can I see some case histories of successful sponsorships? Can I find out more about a particular Channel 4 programme? Can you give me information for my Media Studies project? Can you give me general information about Channel 4? How was Channel 4 set up? Who owns Channel 4? Who runs Channel 4? How is Channel 4 funded? How does Channel 4 commission its programmes? What is Channel 4's programme policy? How does Channel 4 get new ideas for its website? Advertising on Channel 4 People who work at Channel 4 Can I see your Annual Reports online? How many hits does the Channel 4 FOI website get? Please note, these totals are published monthly. In July 2008, our FOI website received 1,809 page views from 570 visits. In June 2008, our FOI website received 1,561 page views from 517 visits. In May 2008, our FOI website received 1,573 page views from 591 visits. In April 2008, our FOI website received 1,875 page views from 634 visits. In March 2008, our FOI website received 1,897 page views from 653 visits. In February 2008, our FOI website received 1,541 page views from 532 visits. In January 2008, our FOI website received 1,406 page views from 496 visits. In December 2007, our FOI website received 1,254 page views from 365 visits. In November 2007, our FOI website received 2,256 page views from 739 visits. In October 2007, our FOI website received 1,972 page views from 679 visits. In September 2007, our FOI website received 1,335 page views from 440 visits. In August 2007, our FOI website received 911 page views from 387 visits. Celebrity Big Brother 2007 - How is the vote monitored? Viewers can vote by either phone or text and both of these platforms are run by a service provider who is experienced with handling large volume votes. The overall totals are collated by Channel 4 and authenticated by the Electoral Reform Society, an independent third party of the utmost repute which also monitors the General Election. More information can be found about this organisation on their website www.electoral-reform.org.uk. Celebrity Big Brother 2007 - How is money raised for charity? Each phone and text vote costs 50p, of which 10p is given to charity. Once all monies have been calculated, the celebrity nominated charities are contacted and talked through the process of the donations. Each celebrity nominates a charity which they would like to support, and the total profit for charity is divided equally between them all. Can you give me the viewing figures for a particular programme? Audience viewing figures are compiled and owned not by Channel 4, but by BARB, the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Therefore, it is generally BARB and not Channel 4 who has the right to supply audience figures to third parties. Having said that, lots of general audience reports are available online on the BARB website at www.barb.co.uk: they publish weekly and monthly audience reports going back to 1998 of the numbers of viewers for each channel (click on the 'weekly and monthly TV viewing summaries' links on the BARB homepage); and they also publish lists of the programmes with the highest ratings by channel (click on the link for 'top programmes by channel' on the BARB homepage). Or you might want to contact BARB directly to see if they can assist you with your request at enquiries@barb.co.uk. You may also wish to consider contacting Broadcast, the weekly industry television and radio journal, in case they can assist you - Broadcast publishes weekly ratings figures. Their website address is www.broadcastnow.co.uk. We make a lot of information about our audiences available on our website. You may want to look at the Channel 4 Sales website - try the Audience Data and Audience Insight tabs on the left-hand side. Does Channel 4 have a list of preferred suppliers? As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 does not produce its own programmes but commissions them from more than 300 independent production companies across the UK every year. Channel 4 does not have a list of preferred or approved production companies. If you would like to know more about Channel 4's commissioning process, further information is available on our 4Producers website If you would like to find out more about production companies in the UK, you may wish to consider contacting PACT, the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television. Their website is www.pact.co.uk. Can I see some case histories of successful sponsorships? Yes - have a look at at the Channel 4 Sales website. Can I find out more about a particular Channel 4 programme? Information about our creative output falls outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the Act"). This is because there is a special derogation (exception) in the Act applicable to Channel 4 for information about journalism, art or literature (schedule I Part VI of the Act). This means that we are not required by the Act to provide any information about our programming, films, and website output. However, although questions about Channel 4's programmes will not be dealt with under the Act, our Viewer Enquiries team may be able to help you. You can contact them here. Can you give me information for my Media Studies project? Have you had a look at the What's This Channel 4 microsite? The site has been designed to help you learn about the way Channel 4 works as a media institution. It can be used by anyone, but will be especially helpful for people studying Media Studies. Here is the link to What's This Channel 4? There is also a lot of information about Channel 4 available on our main website – check out the answers below to see if the information you need is there! Can you give me general information about Channel 4? A lot of information is available from channel4.com. A useful place to start is About4. How was Channel 4 set up? The Channel 4 service was established under the Broadcasting Act 1981 and was originally provided for by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (the then broadcasting regulatory body which no longer exists). The Channel Four Television Corporation was established under the Broadcasting Act 1990 and all its publisher/broadcaster functions were transferred over to the new Corporation in 1993. There is information about how the Channel operates, its history, remit and additional businesses here. You might also want to look on our Freedom of Information site. Channel 4's function as defined by Ofcom can be read here. You may find it useful to look at section 265(3) of the Communications Act 2003 which sets out the public service remit relevant to Channel 4 - available here. Who owns Channel 4? Channel Four Television Corporation was set up by an Act of Parliament. It is a publicly owned corporation and does not have any shareholders. Who runs Channel 4? The board is appointed by the television regulator - OFCOM - in agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. The Chief Executive is Andy Duncan. You can find out more about the Chief Executive, Senior Management, and the Board of Directors in our Annual Report 2005. Information about the way Channel 4 governs itself is set out in the Finance section on pages 77-85 of the report (page 33-41 of the document). How is Channel 4 funded? Unlike the BBC, Channel 4 receives no public funding. It is funded entirely by its own commercial activities. Most of our income comes from advertising revenue. You can find out more about advertising sales on Channel 4's dedicated advertising sales website here. You can see information about Channel 4's funding in the financial accounts for the last year in our Annual Report 2005, which is available online here. How does Channel 4 commission its programmes? Channel 4 is a publisher/broadcaster. It does not produce its own programmes in-house, but commissions them from more than 300 independent production companies right across the UK, making it the major stimulus and outlet for Britain's highly successful independent production sector. It invests heavily in training and talent development throughout the industry. Have a look at the 4Producers website for a full overview of the commissioning process at Channel 4. It includes a step by step guide to the commissioning process. What is Channel 4's programme policy? You can see our Programme Policy Statements 2002 - 2006 and our Programme Reviews from 2001 - 2005 on the About4 site. Read a list of Channel 4's key historical programmes here. How does Channel 4 get new ideas for its website? Information about how Channel 4 develops and commissions new ideas for our website is available online at 4Producers. Advertising on Channel 4 Channel 4 requires all advertising agencies placing adverts with Channel 4 to follow the Television Advertising Code. Further information about advertising standards can be found at the Advertising Standards Authority website. The Television Advertising Standards Code is available online here. People who work at Channel 4 Channel 4 is a publisher/broadcaster. It does not produce its own programmes in-house, but commissions them from more than 300 independent production companies right across the UK. This means that, for the most part, Channel 4 does not directly employ cameramen, presenters, or other people involved in making television programmes. Broadly, the Channel Four Television Corporation deals with the main Channel 4 service and 4 Ventures, the Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary, runs Channel 4's other digital channels (E4, More 4 and Film Four) and commercial ventures. You can find out about department roles and functions in this document. Information about Channel 4's headcount is available in our Annual Report, where it is broken down into individual departments. This report is available online here, and the information about headcount is on page 49 of the report (page 18 of the document). Can I see your Annual Reports online? Our current Annual Report is available online at About4. Our Annual Reports are published each year in May, and once they are published, we aim to make them available online. To access our Annual Reports from 1983 to 2005, click here. If this information doesn't answer your question, you can make an FOI request using our online form here. |
