TAC response to UK Government consultation on Channel 4

13 July 2017

TAC calls for 19% of Channel 4 spend to be in the nations and for a permanent Channel 4 presence in Wales

Publishing its recent submission to the UK government consultation on the future of Channel 4, the trade association stops short of arguing for a full Channel 4 relocation, arguing that the key factor in making sure Channel 4 engages with the nations is how much it spends there, and also how much contact its programme commissioners have with the sector in Wales.

TAC’s submission calls for:

• A phased approach to increasing spend in the UK nations, to go beyond Channel 4’s current requirement of 9% by 2020 to reach a target of 15% by 2025 and 19% by 2030
• Channel 4 to publish annually a timetable of regular commissioning meetings in each nation, including both North and South Wales, with commissioners across all genres
• The broadcaster to have a permanent presence in Wales, either in terms of commissioning staff or an indie liaison, who can make sure Wales’ indie sector has a level playing field when seeking to engage with the channel.

TAC Chair Iestyn Garlick said: “Channel 4’s own recently published initial response to the consultation shows how little it does to reach out to the sector in Wales. It held only two events, covering a limited amount of genres, in the whole of 2016, and both of those were in Cardiff.”

“One thing is clear in this process; the status quo is not an option. We ask the Government to focus less on where Channel 4’s HQ is and more on where and how it spends its money. The key way for Channel 4 to better represent the UK is to make sure indie production companies in every part of the UK have a fair chance to pitch their ideas and have them commissioned.”

You can read TAC’s response in full here.

ENDS

Contact               Tim Wilson – 07909 560 374

 

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