Ofcom on the renewal of the Channel 4 licence

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Executive Summary

1. IBT welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation by Ofcom on the
renewal of the Channel 4 Licence.

2. The International Broadcasting Trust (IBT) is a membership-based organisation.
The views in this submission reflect the concerns of IBT’s member agencies
regarding adequate common understanding of the world in which we live. These
concerns are shared by millions of UK supporters of these organisations. Channel
4 has always contributed significantly to UK understanding of the wider world
and is valued by our members.

3. IBT supports Channel 4 in the delivery of its public service remit, especially in its
commitments to support and stimulate well-informed debate on a wide range of
issues, including by providing access to information and views from around the
world and by challenging established views and to inspire people to make changes
in their lives.

4. IBT views Channel 4 as an essential element in the broadcasting ecology of the
UK – providing a platform for a diverse range of alternative voices.

5. IBT welcomes the report by Ofcom prepared for this consultation which usefully
lays out the context of this licence renewal and highlights aspects of Channel 4’s
performance which are relevant to the delivery of its public service remit.

6. IBT agrees with Ofcom’s conclusion that the licence conditions for independent
production, out of London production, originated programming and UK news
and current affairs are appropriate and should remain unchanged.

7. IBT supports Channel 4’s proposal that the out of England production quota
should be set at 9% in 2020.

8. We also support the maintenance of the Schools programming quota at 0.5 hours
per annum.

9. We agree that the term of the new licence should be for ten years.