C4 sets 2026 target for in-house production

Channel 4 will establish in-house production from 2026, chief exec Alex Mahon has revealed.

The PSB’s chief exec told the Culture, Media and Sport committee (CMS) it would implement its powers produce and own its own content in a “balanced” manner so as not to disrupt its supplier base.

She told Labour MP Bayo Alaba more details will emerge in the next quarter. Previously Mahon had told Broadcast the broadcaster was exploring joint ventures as well as in-house production among its IP options and said nothing would be implemented until 2026 at the earliest. She has now confirmed it will be from next year.

“There’s still a bit of housekeeping [around in-house production] to put in place as Ofcom goes out to consult on codes of practice, to make sure C4 is planning to do that in a fair way with the independent sector,” she told the hearing.

“We’ve been clear that it is an important right to grow non-advertising revenue over time but also to do it in a measured manner to make sure that the 300 partners we work with, particularly indies and SMEs across the nations and regions, are not disrupted. So there’s a balance there about how fast we scale it.

“I expect to be able to talk about…once the codes have been put in place, how we can build a team who can create IP for C4, and also what other companies do we invest in.

“We’re clearly bought up for 2025 and quite a lot of 2026, so it will start to make a difference from 2026 on.”

Outgoing C4 chair Ian Cheshire told the committee that there is “no big bang about to explode” and the decision to implement in-house production fits in with the Media Act’s onus on the C4 board to ensure the broadcaster’s long-term financial sustainability.

“We’re not a colossal financial organisation, we haven’t got £1bn hidden behind the sofa that we’re waiting to deploy,” he said. “We have to plan it financially, but over 10 years this is an important strengthening of C4’s sustainability.”

Mahon said while C4 has already set aside investment for the move, further outlay on staffing would be required.

“We need to hire some people, we need to have the codes in place with Ofcom, we have to set aside investment for how we’ll do it,” she said.

“All those factors are in place, it’s just a question of when we begin and doing it in partnership with the independent sector. This has had some recovery from 2023, but there are still a lot of challenges in the sector, particularly for freelancers, which is why we are careful about how fast we go.”