Channel 4 adds £100m for comedy, drama and reality

Ian Katz described the glut of reboots as “TV’s microwave moment” as he unveiled plans to earmark an extra £100m over the next three years for comedy, drama and reality formats on Channel 4.

In an Edinburgh TV Festival session focused on the broadcaster, the chief content officer said that the formats driving streaming growth on All 4 are tentpole reality shows, such as E4’s Married At First Sight and Made in Chelsea, as well as comedies and dramas, all of which are popular with young audiences.

The £100m investment marks a “significant dialling up” of the reality, drama and comedy genres, Katz said, adding that the latter, in particular, is “more central” than it has ever been to C4’s programming, noting the recent recommissions of Big Boys, Hullraisers and The Curse.

Head of drama Caroline Hollick added that she is keen to increase investment in dramas that serve younger viewers, an audience it was recently criticised by Ofcom for underserving.

“That doesn’t mean pure YA; our dramas have to have a universal appeal that doesn’t exclude an audience,” she said, citing End of the F**king World, Ackley Bridge and upcoming teen drama The Gathering as examples of what she’s looking for.

Back to basics

Katz denied having any interest in bringing back Big Brother, following ITV’s decision to reboot the show and took the opportunity to criticise the number of old formats being revived by broadcasters. He acknowledged that C4 has contributed to the trend, with its own revivals of Changing Rooms and The Big Breakfast.

“There’s something depressing about this microwave moment that television is in, with so many old dishes being reheated,” he said, “If C4 is about anything, it has to be about looking for that new dish or recipe.”

He hailed upcoming reality formats Make Me A PM and Rise & Fall as examples of the “big, difficult ideas” that C4 is known for.

“I feel that if we’ve done anything in the last five years, we’ve put the spikiness back into the channel - we’ve put the grit back in the oyster,” he said, citing shows such as Joe Lycett’s Big Pride Party, Frankie Boyle: Monarchy and Jeremy Kyle: Death on Daytime as programmes that have helped sew a “thread of deep C4 DNA – awkwardness and spikiness – through the channel”.

Katz has been a vocal opponent of C4’s privatisation, and the topic was briefly touched upon during the hour-long session. He said that despite the challenges presented by the process, one benefit is that he and the C4 team have come to better understand the broadcaster’s original purpose.

“Having to go back to basics and explain and focus on what ad who you’re for has given us a laser focus on the remit and its delivery as a result of this process,” he said.