Channel 4’s impact on the UK’s International Competitiveness and Global Profile

Pact commissioned Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates to assess the potential impact of a Channel 4 ownership change, with an emphasis on the implications for the UK’s international competitiveness and global profile. The report is a distinct piece of research and interrelates to the other annexes that Pact has provided to Government as a supplement to its response to the Government’s consultation on a potential change of ownership of Channel 4 Television Corporation. The O&O report has five sections which takes a forward-looking approach and outlines the potential detriment in terms of loss to the sector if a change of ownership results in a change to its publisher broadcaster status. The report shows that:

• Channel 4 provided an estimated £940 million of value to the independent production sector in 2019 – through commissions, secondary sales of Channel 4 programmes, and through its contribution to the ‘creative economy’ – i.e. its value to production companies, actors and other talent that are a success due to Channel 4’s initial support

• If a new owner of Channel 4 pursued a strategy of moving productions in-house and took fewer creative risks, this could cost the independent production sector up to £3.7 billion within ten years

• The full impact would be even greater – as a weakened independent production sector would have a significant knock-on impact on the UK’s wider audiovisual ecosystem over time

Click here to read the report in full.