Channel 4 strikes streaming deal with Disney
Agreement comes as linear broadcasters struggle to compete with US media giants
Channel 4 has agreed to put its linear channel and many of its television shows on Disney’s streaming service, as traditional broadcasters struggle with changing viewing habits and the dominance of US media giants.
Multiple Channel 4 shows will be available on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland at the same time as they are shown on Channel 4’s main TV channel from early next year. Channel 4’s main channel and additional on-demand content will be available separately on Disney+.
Disney said that the deal with Channel 4 was one of the most significant that it has agreed globally to bring local content to its streaming customers.
Adam Smith, chair of direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment, said: “We see so much opportunity to continue to grow internationally.
“This deal has really been structured in a way that is deeply complementary to both Channel Four and to Disney+,” he added. “It helps surface some of their best titles and bring them to new audiences in a way that makes Disney+ feel more relevant culturally [and] drives more local engagement.”
The deal will raise fresh questions about the sustainability of the UK’s public service broadcasters, whose domestic audiences and advertising revenues have fallen sharply as more people watch either on streaming services such as Disney+ and Netflix or via YouTube and social media.
Channel 4 said in September that it would cut 340 jobs — about a quarter of its workforce — after a strategic review of the organisation aimed at “ensuring Channel 4 is the right shape and size”. The BBC is separately seeking to cut about a tenth of its more than 20,000 employees.
Broadcasters have already agreed deals to move their content to rival services, with the BBC and Channel 4 showing their programmes on YouTube while also attempting to push their own streaming platforms.
ITV has already struck a deal with Disney to show some of their programmes on each other’s platforms as a taster, to a more limited extent than the US group’s agreement with Channel 4. ITV has agreed to sell its television business to rival Sky, which is owned by US media giant Comcast.
While such agreements give UK broadcasters greater reach, they have sparked concerns among some in the industry who fear that younger viewers may lose their connection to Britain’s media groups if they mainly watch their content on other services.
Priya Dogra, chief executive, Channel 4, said that the Disney deal was attractive because the “attribution to Channel Four will be prominent, it will be obvious to people that they are watching Channel Four programming”.
She added: “Our goal really is to make sure that our programming with our brand is available in multiple places. We’re trying to reach those that don’t always come to us on a regular basis.”
The vast majority of Channel 4’s programmes, including The Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox, are made by independent production companies.
Smith added that Channel Four demographics “lean towards youth and edginess a little bit, and I think that there is a real appetite for that on Disney+”.
The move comes as the government is in final talks to decide the future of the BBC’s funding, which could include some form of “streamer tax” that would ensure households paid a licence fee for watching US services as well as UK broadcasters.
The BBC is also in talks with Channel 4 to bring together content on their streaming platforms in a bid to create greater scale.