Channel 4 Reports Record Investment in U.K. Content

LONDON: Channel 4’s spending on homegrown British content reached a record high of £434 million in 2012, with a total content spend of £608 million, up 3 percent year on year.

The £434 million spent on U.K. content last year compares to the £419 million reported in 2011, according to Channel 4’s annual report. The investment in the schedule paid off, with new titles accounting for 72 percent of Channel 4’s top 50 most-viewed programs in 2012.

Channel 4 worked with 460 supplier across 2012, a 6-percent gain on the prior year. Investment in content outside of the U.K. was up 37 percent year on year, at £21 million.

Its share of TV viewing held steady at 11.5 percent. On-demand viewing through its 4OD service, which is now available on Xbox and YouView, had 450 million total views, a gain of 5 percent.

The C4 sales hour delivered revenues of £1 billion. Ad revenue was essentially flat at £844 million.

Channel 4’s chairman, Lord Burns, said: “Channel 4 exists to deliver to its remit and did so in abundance across 2012, entering 2013 in a strong position both creatively and financially. The success of the Paralympics demonstrated the organization at its very best and I am encouraged by the overall renewal of the schedule and the stability of the portfolio’s share of audience. Knowing that we aim to operate the business to break-even over the long term, the Board is comfortable with the planned deficit for 2012 and the strategy of continuing to deploy our cash surplus during 2013 to further invest in innovation. This is to the benefit of our audiences and creative partners.”

David Abraham, chief executive, added: “2012 was a memorable year for Channel 4 as we broadcast the Paralympic Games and invested more in U.K. content than in our 30-year history. Deploying part of our cash surplus, built up across 2010 and 2011, our strategy focused on investments in the organization’s long-term future whilst ensuring that we maximized spend on U.K. content. We worked with more suppliers than ever before and broadcast a distinctive and diverse schedule, delivering to our remit on a daily basis. One in three of all 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.K. are now registered with Channel 4 and our data strategy is evolving—eight new advertising products launched across 2012. We entered 2013 debt-free with cash reserves of £261 million and will look to repeat this strategy of investing in innovation over the course of 2013.”