Economic analysis of options to increase the regional impact of Channel 4 Corporation

The creative industries, of which broadcasting is a major element, play a central role in the UK’s diverse economic and cultural life. The public service television broadcasters (PSBs) have a range of obligations intended to ensure that they reflect the UK’s nations and regions in their programming. Off-screen, regional offices and production locations help to spread the creative sector’s economic benefits around the country. Yet growth in the broadcasting and production sectors has not been evenly distributed in recent years. London and the South East - where more than two thirds of producers are presently based – have benefited more than elsewhere in the UK.

The government is considering how Channel 4 Corporation (C4C) can most effectively fulfil three objectives: contribute to regional economic growth; stimulate regional creative industries; and better serve regional audiences. The 2017 Conservative Party election manifesto included a commitment to relocate Channel 4 outside London, as part of a broader drive to ensure the UK’s major cultural institutions build their presence across the UK.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) commissioned Oliver & Ohlbaum and Europe Economics to analyse the potential regional economic benefits and costs of two policy options under consideration in its 2017 consultation on C4C’s regional economic impact:

• Relocation of some or all of C4C outside London, potentially including moving its headquarters

• Increasing Channel 4’s broadcast hours of, and spend on, programmes made outside London

This report contains our findings. Its primary purpose of this project is to assess the expected economic impact of the proposed policy options, both for regions outside London and for the UK as a whole.

Click here to read the report in full.