Channel 4 merges TV and online in company restructure
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Channel 4 is merging all commissioning and creative activities to create one cross-platform content division, as part of a company restructure being led by new CEO David Abraham.
The Future Media team, which handles all commissioning and content production for Channel 4’s digital and investment divisions, including 4iP, will now join their TV commissioning counterparts.
Abraham will cut senior management by 25%, removing 12 posts before the end of the year. The broadcaster is on the lookout for a new chief creative officer to lead the new division. The role will combine Kevin Lygo’s former role as director of TV and content and Julian Bellamy’s current role as head of Channel 4. Bellamy will be acting chief creative officer until the role is filled.
Abraham said, “We are going further than any other broadcaster has yet gone to fully integrate our commissioning and content teams as we anticipate the tipping point in the convergence of television with other media. We need to fundamentally evolve the way we work in response to this convergence, becoming leaner, more efficient and blending a multi-platform approach into the centre of the organisation, rather than leaving ’new’ media in its own isolated silo.”
The news comes as Channel 4 revealed it will use Twitter to gauge public opinion on how the government should tackle the national deficit on tonight’s Dispatches programme.
The broadcaster’s home page will tie in with the social network to monitor in real time which key words are being used the most.
People will be able to see whether the panelists’ views have any effect on the public’s reaction. A range of the most pertinent public tweets will be chosen and shown on the website during the programme.
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk
YouGov Insight:
· 17% of the public believe that there is no point paying for a paper when you can get it for free. This statistic is the same across the ABC1 and the C2DE social grades.
· Men over the age of 55 are the group most likely to agree with the statement that you get the quality you pay for in regard to newspapers.
· Londoners are the regional group least likely to agree that you get the quality you pay for as regards newspapers.
· 83% of the public would not consider paying for online newspaper content.
· Of those willing to pay for online newspaper content, over half (52%) said that they expected to receive exclusive stories and/or interview not available anywhere else.
· 30% of people use the internet to catch up on TV via iplayer, 4OD etc.
