UK Channel 4 to merge broadcast, online into “All 4.”
"Broadcasters are at a disadvantage if they separate their online and linear channel brands," says British channel.
- Published by David Knox
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Britain’s Channel 4 has announced a radical shift in its platform offering in response to changing tastes, by dumping its online catch-up service 4oD in favour of a single online destination for all its content, whether live streaming or on-demand.
“Broadcasters are at a disadvantage if they separate their online and linear channel brands,” CEO David Abraham said. “We think the future is about blending the two and using the strengths of both.”
The new service, All 4, will “deliver the most advanced [response] to changing user behaviour,” and allow viewers to watch shows from Channel 4, E4 More 4 and Film4.
“It will help ensure that our content portfolio remains an important, valued part of viewers’ TV consumption for decades to come.”
The All 4 initiative is hoped to keep connected with the broadcaster’s youth audience, for which advertisers pay a premium, but which is drifting from traditional TV to digital.
All 4 will be divided into three areas: Now, which includes live streams and the most popular content; On Soon, which will offer recommendations for upcoming programming; and On Demand.
It will be available on PCs and some mobile devices and then be rolled out to additional platforms, with a personalised experience.
The public broadcaster first launched its catch-up service 4oD in 2006, and since claims to have signed up fifty per cent of all 16 to 34-year-olds in the UK to channel4.com.
Source: Guardian, Independent, Hollywood Reporter,
One Response
And pretty much everybody outside C4 agrees this is a bad idea. 4oD is easily the most recognised on demand brand outside of the BBC iPlayer, and the longest running too. Having the content in one place isn’t a bad idea but ditching a strong established brand for something as weak as “All 4” is just idiocy.