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.
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.
Inclusion
What we do as a broadcaster is guided by our unique public service remit. So it makes sense that this also influences how we work as a business and behave as an employer. In short, we are who we are because of what we do and how we do it. This is the essence of our culture.
We are inclusive; not simply because we exist to reflect the rich diversity in our country but because we celebrate individuality and understand that ideas can come from anywhere or anyone. So inviting people in gives us the endless supply of energy, ideas, passion and perspectives that drive us. This feeds our ability to be creative. And if we’re anything, we’re a powerhouse of originality, innovation and imagination.
For creativity to flourish, it needs to be nurtured. So we make sure new talent has every chance to realise its potential and existing talent has what it needs to thrive. It also requires us to be open-minded and open to new ideas; to embrace new ways of working and adopt new technologies.
It’s our purpose to educate and inspire change, so we have the curiosity to explore the possibilities. It’s our purpose to deliver quality, so we collaborate – because we also know that no-one knows it all. It’s our purpose to champion the alternative, so we stand apart from the mainstream and find value in the leftfield.
We’re all here to make a change for the better. This starts with 4Inclusion, a unique team that sits within the Marketing Department at Channel 4. Their aim is to build on Channel 4's remit, purpose and values to ensure the broadcaster is 'the iconic inclusive employer. They work cross departmentally on new initiatives to ensure our people feel able to bring their true selves to work.
Most importantly, 4Inclusion supports Channel 4's staff networks - safe spaces where our people can find a sense of community and allyship. Each one is run voluntarily by a number of Chairs and sponsored by a member of the Executive Team. They host regular drop-ins and exciting events, and love welcoming new members. Click through below to see what you could be a part of when joining Channel 4.
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.