About Channel 4
About Channel 4
About Channel 4
Channel 4 is a publicly-owned and commercially-funded UK Public Service Broadcaster (PSB), with a statutory remit to deliver high-quality, innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo.
In a Nutshell
A publisher-broadcaster, we do not have our own in-house production teams; instead, we commission content from producers, mainly SMEs, from all across the Nations and Regions.
We’re a self-sufficient business that reinvests all profits back into programmes, at zero cost to the taxpayer. A ‘Robin Hood’ model of cross-funding means programmes that make money pay for others that are key to delivering our remit, such as News and Current Affairs.
Our twin goals as a content provider and business are to fulfil our remit and to be commercially self-sufficient.
Our Remit
Everything that Channel 4 does is governed by our public service remit. This is agreed by Parliament and enshrined in legislation. It gives us our unique and important role in British life and makes up a core part of our DNA.
Learn more about our remitOur Model
We are a self-sustaining social enterprise. This means we raise commercial revenues from the market and reinvest the surpluses back into British public-service content from independent
UK producers. Our model makes us the only commercial PSB whose sole incentive is to invest in valued PSB programming.
For over 30 years, we’ve successfully balanced the twin challenges of delivering against a public service remit while being commercially self-sufficient. As consumers increasingly demand that businesses deliver social good, and charitable public sector organisations raise more and more money from commercial activities, our social enterprise model has become increasingly powerful and relevant.
Learn more about our modelWhy We Exist
We are a ‘public-policy intervention,’ driving innovation and growth by exploiting a publicly-owned asset (the terrestrial broadcasting spectrum) to reach audiences and generate revenues.
Those revenues go back into funding independent production companies, who retain the rights to the programmes they create. These rights are then exploited on a global scale, delivering revenues direct to the production companies, who return tax receipts to the UK government.
And on top of all of this, we provide invaluable knowledge and promotional support to help grow the UK’s broadcasting sector and foster its entrepreneurialism. The UK’s innovation strategy focuses on support for small businesses to bring ideas to market, increase knowledge-sharing and grow global businesses.
Learn more about why we existDiversity
Diversity in TV and the media is a top priority for us at Channel 4. A key part of our remit is to appeal to people whatever their culture, nationality, religious persuasion, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, gender, race or age. Our vision is to build on our heritage as a trailblazer in diversity, with an emphasis on achieving greater inclusion; to be a beacon to the UK industry of what an inclusive, diverse and creative culture can look like; and to give Channel 4 a creative and competitive edge.
Our ambition is that, by 2023, our workforce is composed of no less than:
Ethnically Diverse: 20%
Disability: 12%
LGBT+: 6%
And within our top 100 paid:
Gender: 50/50 split
Ethnically Diverse: 20%
We are proud to be a part of Diamond, the single online system used by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky to obtain consistent diversity data on the programmes we commission.
Our commitment also extends to helping our partners and suppliers become more confident in inclusion and diversity. For example, we have launched a guide for the TV sector on employing disabled talent, to provide indies and other partners with a one-stop-shop on the business case through to the practicalities.
And we have also published a whitepaper providing 14 insights into inclusion and diversity, pulling together some of the lessons and insights that we've learned about inclusion and diversity.
about diversityEquity & Inclusion
Channel 4 holds an important role in a changing world. We exist to create change, and we do this by representing unheard voices, challenging with purpose, and constantly reinventing entertainment. In a world facing deep political divisions, ongoing debates about identity, and changing viewer habits, it’s critical we stay true to and deliver our remit.
We’ve led our industry in diversity and inclusion, both as a broadcaster and an employer. From Desmond's, the first black sitcom first broadcast by Channel 4 in 1989, to our ground-breaking coverage of the Paralympic Games, Channel 4 has brought previously neglected experiences and perspectives into the mainstream.
From on-screen initiatives like Black to Front, or our recent 'Sorry, Not Sorry' diversity, equity and inclusion campaign, through to industry-leading commercial initiatives like the Diversity in Advertising Award, our pioneering workplace policies around women’s health and our commitment to being an anti-racist organisation, we’re proud to be progressive – and we’re committed to making an impact. But we know there’s more work to be done to ensure Channel 4’s reality matches its aspirations, on and off screen, and internally.
Sorry, Not Sorry.
PSA: From the very bottom of our hearts, we'd like to say sorry. #AltogetherDifferent
At Channel 4, we believe that everyone should have the same chances to get ahead in the media industry. Currently there are not enough people with disabilities working in front of the camera, behind the camera and within broadcasters like Channel 4. If you have a disability that prevents you from completing an online application process please email us at recruitment@channel4.co.uk or call on 0207 3068195 to discuss what support can be provided to you.
Channel 4 is a Care Leaver Friendly Employer. By signing the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter and adopting its principles, Channel 4 is supporting an immensely talented yet often under-served and under-represented community of young people/ adults and commits to offering an interview (and constructive feedback) to applicants who identify as care experienced and meet the essential criteria for the role as outlined on the job description. Applicants should indicate if they wish to apply under our Care Leaver Scheme by selecting the option on the application form. This option is available on all applications.
If you are invited to interview we’ll ask you about any adjustments you may need, and if you are offered a role with us we’ll will talk to you about any reasonable adjustments required to create a working environment where you’ll be supported to perform at your best.
Our equity strategy
'Equity by Design'
We launched Channel 4’s first equity strategy in March 2024. The strategy was co-designed with our employees, and it guides everything we do as a business.
The strategy’s six principles are as follows:
1. Make informed choices
Our decisions consider everyone, and are powered by diverse views and quality data from our employees and audiences.
We seek underrepresented perspectives, consulting those with lived experience and groups representing communities' voices. This includes our employee resource groups (ERGs) who act as strategic partners in identifying issues and potential solutions alongside our functional teams.
2. Design for inclusion
Our product, content, workplaces, and ways of working are inclusive by design, and showcase the best in accessibility for all.
3. Choose inclusive partners
We invest in diverse, inclusive partners who share our values, and we pass our learnings and expertise onto others in our value chain.
We work with like-minded businesses in an increasingly digital world. We launched the 4Ventures’ Untapped scheme in 2024 to bring more investments from underrepresented founders to our attention.
4. Treat people right
We expect the very best from our people, in particular our leaders, and help our industry set the standard in tackling unacceptable behaviour and systemic discrimination.
5. Create opportunity
We lead our field in workforce representation, and progressive and inclusive workplace practices, aligning employee experience with our brand values.
We have a number of policies that support our inclusive culture, these include:
See our 2024+ baselines below.
6. Lead on social impact
We act on emerging societal issues affecting our employees and audiences.
In June 2020, we set out six new commitments for Channel 4 to be a driver of anti-racism in the industry and improve ethnically diverse representation. Read about our progress here: Anti-Racism Commitments
Other key work in this space includes:
Channel 4 is a Care Leaver Friendly Employer
2024+ baselines
After hitting our ambitious 2023 diversity targets, we’re taking a fresh approach to workforce representation to support our focus on equity. From 2024 onwards, we will stay in line with or ahead of general population (Census 2021) and previous Channel 4 targets by setting baselines we won’t fall beneath. We’ve also set a new goal for ‘non-professional’ socio-economic status and are starting to monitor representation of those with care responsibilities and care experience
Creative Equity
Channel 4 is committed to increasing representation on screen and behind the camera, encouraging greater inclusion, and ensuring that portrayal within our programmes is authentic, challenges stereotypes and reflects the lives of everyone living in Britain today.
The Creative Equity team sit at the heart of Commissioning and work across all genres and platforms. They’re involved at the very start of the commissioning process helping to identify talent and opportunities that help shows to meet our Commissioning Diversity Guidelines. Through the Creative Equity Fund they work with Heads of Departments to target funding to accelerate talent, ideas, and independent producers.
The team has an open-door policy and aim to support and advise Channel 4’s production partners specifically to help them to meet the Commissioning Diversity Guidelines and also to support off screen talent where possible. We are creative partners, collaborators and facilitators working collectively to advocate for equality and ensure that real, substantial change takes place through our work.
TV Access Project (TAP)
TAP was formed in response to the campaign by Underlying Health Condition (UHC).
In Spring 2022, some of the UK’s main broadcasters and streamers met to discuss how to improve access for Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodivergent talent across the TV industry.
Officially launched in August 2022, TAP is now an alliance of ten of the UK’s biggest broadcasters and streamers who have pledged to work together to create a substantive and permanent structural shift to ensure access provision for Disabled talent.
To find out more about TAP visit the TAP page on 4Producers.
To view the Commissioning Diversity Guidelines and more of the team’s projects, visit the Creative Equity page on 4Producers.
To view disability-specific projects, visit Creative Equity’s Disability Inclusion page on 4Producers.
Related links
- Guide to hiring disabled production talent in the TV industry
- Guide to hiring disabled production talent in the TV industry - Plain Text
- Guide to including disabled talent in the TV industry
- Guide to including disabled talent in the TV industry - Plain Text
- Guide to progressing disabled talent in the TV industry
- Guide to progressing disabled talent in the TV industry - Plain Text
Our Staff Networks
Locations
In March 2018, we announced '4 All the UK', a strategy to ensure that Channel 4 serves the whole of the UK and the biggest change to the structure of the organisation in our 35-year history. Our ‘4 All the UK strategy’ saw us open our new National HQ in Leeds and two new Creative Hubs in Bristol and Glasgow, these are in addition to our existing London and Manchester offices.
Leeds
Our National HQ in Leeds opened in October 2019 and enables us to capitalise on a strong and fast-growing independent production sector in cities across the North of England. Our new in-house digital content studio ‘4Studio’ is based in the National HQ and will develop short-form content for publication across social media platforms.
London
Our London HQ is based at Horseferry Road, London SW1. Like the National HQ, it houses C4 staff from a variety of departments across the Creative, Commercial and Operations divisions.
Glasgow
Our Creative Hub in Glasgow opened in 2019 and enables Channel 4 to harness the city’s rich cultural diversity, to further improve on-screen representation, and to work with the sector and the region’s educational establishments to grow the pipeline of new talent into the production and broadcast industries.
Bristol
Our Bristol Creative Hub opened in 2019 enables Channel 4 to work closely in partnership with Cardiff and its production sector, with the opportunity to further accelerate the growth of the creative cluster around South West England and South Wales, and also connect with indies across the West of England, Birmingham and the Midlands.
Manchester
4Sales, who are responsible for generating our advertising revenue, has a small but growing office based in Manchester. This team makes a vital contribution to generating the advertising revenue that enables us to deliver against our public service remit.