Channel 4 is a British television Public Service Broadcasters unique entity that whilst commercially funded, it is predominantly owned by the public. It began transmission on 2nd November 1982 as a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Service but is now owned, organised and operated by the Channel Four Television Corporation.
Established to provide a fourth television service to the to Britain, and later the United Kingdom in 2010, when the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital allowed Channel 4 to be a UK-wide channel for the first time. This was in addition to the lisence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and the single commercial channel, ITV.
The channel adheres to the periodically-changing Public Service Remit, and subsequently is afforded free carriage on terestrial platforms, unlike ITV. Channel 4's full 'Statement of Promises' (http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/promises_2001/promises_intro2.html) sets out that their speciality is remaining independence from commodified media environments in order to produce diverse and innovative content. There is an emphasis on creating content for viewer's enjoyability and entertainment, not profit-making or ratings, which also supports that they strive to create content for minorities in society through different genre avenues. Generally, there is an inclusive and up-beat vibe about them.
Channel 4 is available in countires like Switzerland, Belgium and Ireland, and also has an 'on-demand' hub named All 4, a service from Channel Four Television Corporation. The service launched in 2006 as 4oD, and is the biggest commercial broadcaster in the on-demand market. In 2015, 4oD was merged into and renamed All 4.
Current operations from the Channel Four Television Corporation involve:
- Channel 4
- Film4
- More4
- E4
- All4
- 4Music
- 4seven
Television-wise, all brands have been home to very successful shows such as The Inbetweeners, Hollyoaks, 8 out of 10 Cats, Peep Show, Don't Tell The Bride, Shameless, First Dates, Come Dine With Me, Gogglebox and The IT Crowd.
Film4 have also struck gold with movies like Submarine, The Lovely Bones, T2: Trainspotting, Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Titanic, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Slumdog Millionaire, This Is England, Shaun of the Dead, 12 Years a Slave, Watership Down and Attack The Block.