Pact Urges Ofcom to Formalise Channel 4 Out of London Quota

Increased Nations quotas should also form part of renewed licence

Pact has submitted its response to Ofcom’s consultation on Channel 4’s licence renewal (which closed last week) in which it urged Ofcom to make mandatory the current voluntary commitment to spend 50% of its commissioning budget outside of London. It also made the case for separate quotas for the Nations to be introduced, in line with the BBC*.

During Pact’s recent discussions with Government around the introduction of in-house production for Channel 4, Pact set out these proposals as one way to potentially mitigate the impact of Channel 4 moving into production, and to allay any potential reduction in the content budget spent on indies based in the Nations and Regions. It will also offer certainty to the market – which as Ofcom identifies in its consultation – is already feeling the effects of a sector-wide downturn.

Pact CEO John McVay OBE, said: “Pact continues to be concerned about Channel 4’s new capacity to produce its own programmes and the impact this could have on the UK’s production sector, particularly for indies in the Nations and Regions. We disagree with Ofcom’s proposals to retain the existing quotas and urge them to consider strengthening Channel 4’s commitment to supporting indies outside of London and across the UK.”