Channel 4 vows to shun "the easy option" in its 25th year on air

22 March 2007

Channel 4 has today published its Statement of Programme Policy for 2007 with an undertaking to put challenging programming at the heart of its schedule during its 25th anniversary year.

The statement, which Channel 4 is required by Ofcom to publish on an annual basis, identifies four key themes across the channel's programmes in 2007: challenging political, social and ethical subject matter; strong and distinctive authorship; support for new talent; and, new formats and cross-genre initiatives.

Publishing the document, Channel 4's Director of Television and Content, Kevin Lygo, said: "Channel 4 will be 25 years old in November and this document demonstrates our clear intention to stay true to the principles that have guided and sustained the channel so successfully during the last quarter of a century on air.

"At its best Channel 4 is UK television's leading catalyst for change; we broadcast many more new programmes and give more airtime to fresh faces and fresh ideas than any other mainstream broadcaster. The channel also aims to stand squarely in the centre of national debate, challenging orthodoxies and presenting alternative perspectives to encourage our audience to think again."

The channel's editorial ambitions in 2007 will be backed by a programme spend of more than £600 million on television and online, with a budget of £504 million for the core Channel 4 service.  

Key editorial themes in 2007

Channel 4 will focus on major domestic and international political, social and ethical issues, often taking a provocative stance that no other broadcaster would adopt. Key programmes include:

• The Mark of Cain - a drama on the experiences of British soldiers in Iraq
• Britz - Peter Kosminsky's latest drama, exploring a Muslim family's response to events in Iraq
• Throw The Book at Them - a major documentary series on child literacy
• Animal Farm - a documentary series investigating the ethics of GM farming.

• The Great Global Warming Swindle - a polemic on global warming

• A teen gay sexuality season for the morning Education schedule and a peak time season to mark the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality
• An Offensive Comedy season
• Dumped - a four-part documentary series investigating our throwaway society

Channel 4 will build on the strength of Dispatches, and will increase the number of programmes to 40, with key themes in 2007 including the War on Terror, multicultural Britain, UK politics and the health service, plus a season on Blair and Brown. There will also be unparalleled international coverage in 20 episodes of Unreported World and 20 episodes of domestic strand The Insider, exploring diverse points of view.

Channel 4 will showcase powerful voices and authors on and off screen:

• Nick Broomfield's Ghosts on the tragedy of the Morecambe Bay cocklepickers
• Kevin Sim on attitudes to martyrdom in Iran
• Richard Dawkins's The Enemies of  Reason on science versus belief
• Irvine Welsh's return to the channel with Wedding Belles
• Alison Jackson's take on The Blair Years
• Molly Dineen's Lie of the Land
• Matt Collings' new take on seminal arts documentary series Civilisation

There will be a strong focus on new talent, with a range of new talent strands across the schedule as well as off-screen initiatives:

• Channel 4 will spend around £2.5 million on ring-fenced slots for new talent onscreen including: Comedy Lab; a new peak documentaries strand for new talent and Three Minute Wonder; onscreen film and drama new talent initiatives such as Coming Up and Cinema Extreme; and a new 12 part documentary strand 4Real for disabled directors.
• New writers will feature in six Comedy Playhouse slots in Friday night peak time.

Channel 4 will also continue to create new formats and break genre boundaries:

• Human Footprint will create new science-meets-art installations.
• The Mission will offer a new approach to third world poverty.
• The Family will bring observational documentary up-to-date.
• The Seven Sins of England will merge observation and drama.
• Meet the Savages will offer a reverse anthropology series.
• The Mummy Diaries will explore death with a new intimacy.

Channel 4's digital services will also reflect the channel's remit values:

• More4 will offer a strong news hour as well as major events including Harold Pinter's Celebration, The Trial of Tony Blair and War Oratorio
• E4 will transmit originated UK drama, comedy and arts with Skins, Fonejacker and an E4 School for the Performing Arts
• Film4 will showcase UK, European and world cinema titles, making up 40% of its output. Highlights will include Andrezj Wajda's World War Two trilogy and recent European films such as The Edukators, Kontroll and 5 x 2. 

Channel 4 will relaunch its Channel 4 News and Dispatches websites, with an investment of £1.1m and further develop initiatives such as 4Laughs and FourDocs.

Channel 4 is also continuing its commitment to long terms projects such as Big Art (transmitting in 2008), My New Home,  Born To Be Different and Child Genius and will invest a total development spend of more than £11 million during 2007.

The channel expects to transmit programmes from more than 300 independent producers during the course of the year.

Channel 4 has today published its Statement of Programme Policy for 2007 with an undertaking to put challenging programming at the heart of its schedule during its 25th anniversary year.

The statement, which Channel 4 is required by Ofcom to publish on an annual basis, identifies four key themes across the channel's programmes in 2007: challenging political, social and ethical subject matter; strong and distinctive authorship; support for new talent; and, new formats and cross-genre initiatives.

Publishing the document, Channel 4's Director of Television and Content, Kevin Lygo, said: "Channel 4 will be 25 years old in November and this document demonstrates our clear intention to stay true to the principles that have guided and sustained the channel so successfully during the last quarter of a century on air.

"At its best Channel 4 is UK television's leading catalyst for change; we broadcast many more new programmes and give more airtime to fresh faces and fresh ideas than any other mainstream broadcaster. The channel also aims to stand squarely in the centre of national debate, challenging orthodoxies and presenting alternative perspectives to encourage our audience to think again."

The channel's editorial ambitions in 2007 will be backed by a programme spend of more than £600 million on television and online, with a budget of £504 million for the core Channel 4 service.  

Key editorial themes in 2007

Channel 4 will focus on major domestic and international political, social and ethical issues, often taking a provocative stance that no other broadcaster would adopt. Key programmes include:

• The Mark of Cain - a drama on the experiences of British soldiers in Iraq
• Britz - Peter Kosminsky's latest drama, exploring a Muslim family's response to events in Iraq
• Throw The Book at Them - a major documentary series on child literacy
• Animal Farm - a documentary series investigating the ethics of GM farming.

• The Great Global Warming Swindle - a polemic on global warming

• A teen gay sexuality season for the morning Education schedule and a peak time season to mark the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality
• An Offensive Comedy season
• Dumped - a four-part documentary series investigating our throwaway society

Channel 4 will build on the strength of Dispatches, and will increase the number of programmes to 40, with key themes in 2007 including the War on Terror, multicultural Britain, UK politics and the health service, plus a season on Blair and Brown. There will also be unparalleled international coverage in 20 episodes of Unreported World and 20 episodes of domestic strand The Insider, exploring diverse points of view.

Channel 4 will showcase powerful voices and authors on and off screen:

• Nick Broomfield's Ghosts on the tragedy of the Morecambe Bay cocklepickers
• Kevin Sim on attitudes to martyrdom in Iran
• Richard Dawkins's The Enemies of  Reason on science versus belief
• Irvine Welsh's return to the channel with Wedding Belles
• Alison Jackson's take on The Blair Years
• Molly Dineen's Lie of the Land
• Matt Collings' new take on seminal arts documentary series Civilisation

There will be a strong focus on new talent, with a range of new talent strands across the schedule as well as off-screen initiatives:

• Channel 4 will spend around £2.5 million on ring-fenced slots for new talent onscreen including: Comedy Lab; a new peak documentaries strand for new talent and Three Minute Wonder; onscreen film and drama new talent initiatives such as Coming Up and Cinema Extreme; and a new 12 part documentary strand 4Real for disabled directors.
• New writers will feature in six Comedy Playhouse slots in Friday night peak time.

Channel 4 will also continue to create new formats and break genre boundaries:

• Human Footprint will create new science-meets-art installations.
• The Mission will offer a new approach to third world poverty.
• The Family will bring observational documentary up-to-date.
• The Seven Sins of England will merge observation and drama.
• Meet the Savages will offer a reverse anthropology series.
• The Mummy Diaries will explore death with a new intimacy.

Channel 4's digital services will also reflect the channel's remit values:

• More4 will offer a strong news hour as well as major events including Harold Pinter's Celebration, The Trial of Tony Blair and War Oratorio
• E4 will transmit originated UK drama, comedy and arts with Skins, Fonejacker and an E4 School for the Performing Arts
• Film4 will showcase UK, European and world cinema titles, making up 40% of its output. Highlights will include Andrezj Wajda's World War Two trilogy and recent European films such as The Edukators, Kontroll and 5 x 2. 

Channel 4 will relaunch its Channel 4 News and Dispatches websites, with an investment of £1.1m and further develop initiatives such as 4Laughs and FourDocs.

Channel 4 is also continuing its commitment to long terms projects such as Big Art (transmitting in 2008), My New Home,  Born To Be Different and Child Genius and will invest a total development spend of more than £11 million during 2007.

The channel expects to transmit programmes from more than 300 independent producers during the course of the year.

Channel 4 has today published its Statement of Programme Policy for 2007 with an undertaking to put challenging programming at the heart of its schedule during its 25th anniversary year.

The statement, which Channel 4 is required by Ofcom to publish on an annual basis, identifies four key themes across the channel's programmes in 2007: challenging political, social and ethical subject matter; strong and distinctive authorship; support for new talent; and, new formats and cross-genre initiatives.

Publishing the document, Channel 4's Director of Television and Content, Kevin Lygo, said: "Channel 4 will be 25 years old in November and this document demonstrates our clear intention to stay true to the principles that have guided and sustained the channel so successfully during the last quarter of a century on air.

"At its best Channel 4 is UK television's leading catalyst for change; we broadcast many more new programmes and give more airtime to fresh faces and fresh ideas than any other mainstream broadcaster. The channel also aims to stand squarely in the centre of national debate, challenging orthodoxies and presenting alternative perspectives to encourage our audience to think again."

The channel's editorial ambitions in 2007 will be backed by a programme spend of more than £600 million on television and online, with a budget of £504 million for the core Channel 4 service.  

Key editorial themes in 2007

Channel 4 will focus on major domestic and international political, social and ethical issues, often taking a provocative stance that no other broadcaster would adopt. Key programmes include:

• The Mark of Cain - a drama on the experiences of British soldiers in Iraq
• Britz - Peter Kosminsky's latest drama, exploring a Muslim family's response to events in Iraq
• Throw The Book at Them - a major documentary series on child literacy
• Animal Farm - a documentary series investigating the ethics of GM farming.

• The Great Global Warming Swindle - a polemic on global warming

• A teen gay sexuality season for the morning Education schedule and a peak time season to mark the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality
• An Offensive Comedy season
• Dumped - a four-part documentary series investigating our throwaway society

Channel 4 will build on the strength of Dispatches, and will increase the number of programmes to 40, with key themes in 2007 including the War on Terror, multicultural Britain, UK politics and the health service, plus a season on Blair and Brown. There will also be unparalleled international coverage in 20 episodes of Unreported World and 20 episodes of domestic strand The Insider, exploring diverse points of view.

Channel 4 will showcase powerful voices and authors on and off screen:

• Nick Broomfield's Ghosts on the tragedy of the Morecambe Bay cocklepickers
• Kevin Sim on attitudes to martyrdom in Iran
• Richard Dawkins's The Enemies of  Reason on science versus belief
• Irvine Welsh's return to the channel with Wedding Belles
• Alison Jackson's take on The Blair Years
• Molly Dineen's Lie of the Land
• Matt Collings' new take on seminal arts documentary series Civilisation

There will be a strong focus on new talent, with a range of new talent strands across the schedule as well as off-screen initiatives:

• Channel 4 will spend around £2.5 million on ring-fenced slots for new talent onscreen including: Comedy Lab; a new peak documentaries strand for new talent and Three Minute Wonder; onscreen film and drama new talent initiatives such as Coming Up and Cinema Extreme; and a new 12 part documentary strand 4Real for disabled directors.
• New writers will feature in six Comedy Playhouse slots in Friday night peak time.

Channel 4 will also continue to create new formats and break genre boundaries:

• Human Footprint will create new science-meets-art installations.
• The Mission will offer a new approach to third world poverty.
• The Family will bring observational documentary up-to-date.
• The Seven Sins of England will merge observation and drama.
• Meet the Savages will offer a reverse anthropology series.
• The Mummy Diaries will explore death with a new intimacy.

Channel 4's digital services will also reflect the channel's remit values:

• More4 will offer a strong news hour as well as major events including Harold Pinter's Celebration, The Trial of Tony Blair and War Oratorio
• E4 will transmit originated UK drama, comedy and arts with Skins, Fonejacker and an E4 School for the Performing Arts
• Film4 will showcase UK, European and world cinema titles, making up 40% of its output. Highlights will include Andrezj Wajda's World War Two trilogy and recent European films such as The Edukators, Kontroll and 5 x 2. 

Channel 4 will relaunch its Channel 4 News and Dispatches websites, with an investment of £1.1m and further develop initiatives such as 4Laughs and FourDocs.

Channel 4 is also continuing its commitment to long terms projects such as Big Art (transmitting in 2008), My New Home,  Born To Be Different and Child Genius and will invest a total development spend of more than £11 million during 2007.

The channel expects to transmit programmes from more than 300 independent producers during the course of the year.