CHANNEL 4 TO LAUNCH 4 VENTURES LTD

CHANNEL 4 have confirmed their intention to launch a newly incorporated company, 4 Ventures Limited, to manage all of their commercial activities outside the core terrestrial channel.
The new company will control all non-core channel interests of the Channel Four Television Corporation, including the pay-TV services FilmFour and E4, as well as the internet and interactive TV ventures.
Channel 4's programme sales and co-production arm, Channel Four International, and its film production and distribution subsidiary, FilmFour Limited, will also be part of the new company alongside the channel's commercial development team, which is responsible for secondary exploitation of Channel 4 rights across non-broadcast media.
Channel 4's Education division, 4 Learning, and other non-profit activities such as channel4.com, will not be transferred to 4 Ventures Ltd.
Michael Jackson, Channel 4's Chief Executive, said: "This is the next logical step in our strategy, which is to build new cross platform businesses based on Channel 4's programming strengths. Our aim is to ensure we ring-fence our investment in the main Channel 4 service, preserving it as the strong public service foundation on which all other businesses are built. 4 Ventures will allow us to manage our new businesses more aggressively to ensure they open up new sources of revenue and offer a return on Channel 4's investment, helping to insulate the core service against more competitive times ahead."
Initially, 4 Ventures Ltd will be 100 per cent owned by Channel 4, but the Corporation will consider bringing in partners for their individual businesses in the short term and may investigate a strategic or financial partner for the 4 Ventures holding company in the mid to long-term. (CD)