Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is instead funded entirely by its own commercial activities, including publicity.[1] It began its transmission in 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and a single commercial broadcasting network ITV.
_2023.svg) Logo used since 2023 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
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| Headquarters |
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| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i/1080p HDTV[lower-alpha 1] (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Timeshift service | Channel 4 +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Channel Four Television Corporation |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 2 November 1982 |
| Links | |
| Website | channel4.com |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview |
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| Streaming media | |
| Channel 4 | Watch live |
| TVPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
| Sky Go | Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere |
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Originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA),[2] the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport,[3] which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. Until 2010, Channel 4 did not broadcast in Wales, but many of its programmes were re-broadcast there by the Welsh fourth channel S4C. In 2010, Channel 4 extended service into Wales and became a UK-wide television channel. The network's headquarters are in London and Leeds, with creative hubs in Glasgow and Bristol.[4]