Channel 4 has detailed its plans for a standalone in-house production business, new commissioning guidelines and a fund to support full ownership of indies.
The broadcaster plans to kickstart in-house productions next year, concentrating on returnable, scalable factual entertainment, reality and entertainment formats with international potential.
The unit will have distinct reporting lines and management from C4’s existing commissioning team and will pitch both to C4 and third parties.
C4 is now recruiting for a creative lead for the division, who will develop its strategy, build up its IP and set up a development team alongside other key business functions and capabilities.
Te broadcaster stressed that the operation's introduction will be gradual and careful to avoid disrupting the market too severely, but has yet to set out the level of investment or any business targets.
The broadcaster has signalled its commitment to the indie sector by increasing its qualifying indie production quota from 25% to 35%, the highest level of any UK broadcaster, with a particular focus on small- and medium-sized companies.
It has also published new Commissioning Guidelines setting out the “high-level principles” underpinning its commissions to ensure full transparency and maintain a level playing field for indies.
C4 will publish a new Statement of Commissioning Policy, overseen by Ofcom, later this year.
Indie ownership
Meanwhile, C4 will look to take majority stakes in scalable indies and content producers, potentially up to 100% ownership, with its new Creative Investment Fund.
This will replace its existing Indie Growth Fund, in which C4 has been an early-stage partner, taking stakes of up to 25% to help companies grow to the next level.
C4 has invested in 15 indies as part of the scheme: Candour Productions, Duck Soup, Firecrest Films, Five Mile Films, Freedom Scripted, Paper Entertainment, Parable, Proper Content, Rockerdale Studios, Salamanda Media, Spirit Studios, Studio Crook, Two Rivers Media, Warp Films and Yeti Media.
C4 said the new fund will be “flexible in its deal structures, reflecting the varying life stages and needs of its creative partners, whilst seeking to build a portfolio of market leading producers generating diverse income streams” and will “back creative talent and global IP creators with ambition for growth through creative and commercial success”.
Indie Growth Fund head Caroline Murphy will leave at the end of the year, alongside Tracy Forsyth, who has been a creative mentor to the fund since 2019.
C4 has appointed Richard Fell as a new creative mentor with a focus on scripted indie investments.
C4’s outgoing and interim chief executives, Alex Mahon and Jonathan Allan said the plans are “the centrepiece of our strategy to diversify revenues and secure Channel 4’s long-term sustainability. The creation of in-house production and our investment in indie stakes will allow us to generate new income streams that are not wholly reliant on the advertising market.
“Indies will always be the lifeblood of Channel 4, and this new direction is an essential element of our strategy to underpin the long-term sustainability of Channel 4 for the benefit of the independent sector and British storytelling – where all roads lead back to investing in UK independent production.
“The potential for us to take majority stakes in independent production companies is hugely exciting for the industry – the Indie Growth Fund has played a central role in the scaling of numerous indies since its launch and this strategy heralds a new era and greater ambition for the fund.”
Annual report
The plans accompanied the publication of C4’s annual report, which showed revenues remaining flat at £1bn for the fourth consecutive year, with 39% now coming from non-linear.
C4 invested £643m in content in 2024, of which £489m was spent on original UK programming, while its nations and regions spend was up 4% to £200m.
Streaming now accounts for 18% of all C4 viewing, with the number of streams up by 13% to a record 1.8bn last year.
Youth-focused Channel 4.0 doubled its views and UK YouTube views were up by 26% to 340 million.
