Channel 4 wants indies to pitch supporting content for major events, including Stand Up To Cancer and the 2016 Paralympics, and is on the hunt for a replacement for 10 O’Clock Live.

The broadcaster is honing its strategy under head of events Ed Havard and is looking to build on the success of programmes including The Last Leg and Benefits Britain: The Live Debate.

Havard told Broadcast that C4 has committed to a five-year deal with Cancer Research and US charity the Entertainment Industry Foundation for telethon Stand Up To Cancer.

The first fundraiser under the new deal takes place this week, two years after C4 launched the UK’s first Stand Up To Cancer, which raised £8m and reached a peak audience of 2.4 million (10.5% share). Stand Up To Cancer culminates on Friday with a seven-hour live show, produced by Whizz Kid Entertainment.

Spin-off content includes a celebrity Gogglebox from Studio Lambert and Remarkable Television’s Stars At Your Service. Opportunities exist “across a number of genres” to create programming for future telethons, Havard said, pointing to True Vision’s Cutting Edge doc Curing Cancer.

Planning has begun for C4’s Paralympics coverage in 2016 and Havard made clear that the door is open to ideas.

The broadcaster is set to invest in sport beyond the Paralympics, horse racing and NFL. C4’s sport and events team will increase in size, Havard said, with new roles becoming available “over the coming weeks and months”.

The former Question Time editor also revealed that Zeppotron’s comedy current affairs show 10 O’Clock Live will not return after three series. The show last aired in 2013 to 1 million (5.8%) viewers.

Havard said C4 is “absolutely committed” to commissioning more satirical programming and is “actively looking” for shows that can build on 10 O’Clock Live.

Havard oversaw Mentorn Media’s Benefits Street spin-off Benefits Britain: The Live Debate, and said he would be open to staging similar programming. “If the opportunity was right we’d do it again.”

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