Channel 4 has confirmed it will be establishing an in-house production arm, Channel 4 Productions (C4P), following the removal of its exemption from doing so in last year’s Media Act.
TAC Chair Llyr Morus said:
“Channel 4 will need to ensure a level playing field for commissioning – this is crucial to ensuring that C4P is not party to conversations or data which gives it an advantage over external suppliers.
We have also seen reports that the in-house production team will be in the same building as the commissioning team, which obviously raises concerns as to the extent that true separation and a level playing field will be in operation.
TAC is raising with Ofcom how the relationship between Channel 4 Corporation and Channel 4 Production will be regulated and the extent to which there will be any stakeholder consultation.
Simultaneously Channel 4 has announced it will be closing its Indie Growth Fund, from which several production companies in Wales benefited in the past, and instead launching a new Creative Investment Fund, which ‘will look to take larger equity stakes in scalable companies, with a clear path to 100% ownership’.
This will be a retrograde step in terms of Channel 4 no longer supporting indies’ development in cases where they wish to remain self-owned.
TAC will be discussing with Channel 4 whether it will be proposing any further support for indies which does not involve a subsequent ownership takeover.”