Information about how we regulate Channel 4 in the UK, including our latest reports and reviews.
The Channel 4 licence is held by the Channel 4 Corporation (C4C), a statutory corporation that was established to provide the Channel 4 service. C4C has a specific remit set out in law, along with further obligations in their broadcast licence.
We granted the current licence for the Channel 4 service to C4C in 2014, after two consultations (July 2013 and January 2014) on the licence conditions. You can find the current licensee details and a copy of the licence on our website.
The current Channel 4 licence will expire at the end of 2024. Ofcom has the power to renew the licence.
We hold C4C to account for the delivery of its remit and obligations through annual reviews, and a more detailed review every five years.
Complain about something you’ve seen on this channel
You can make a complaint about a programme you watched on this channel.
Regulatory framework
This document sets out:
- C4C’s obligations under the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) regulatory framework;
- A summary of Ofcom’s findings on delivery of C4C’s public service remit and content duties over the period between 2014 to 2020; and
- The process and change of control provisions that might be relevant to a potential change of ownership of C4C.
Channel 4 Corporation's regulatory framework (PDF, 436.2 KB)
Media content duties
Channel 4 Corporation (C4C) must prepare an annual statement of programme and media content policy. This must explain how C4C has delivered its public service remit over the previous year. In preparing the statement, C4C must consult Ofcom and have regard to guidance we issue (PDF, 149.0 KB).
In response to their statement, we publish a report setting out how well we think C4C has delivered on its remit.
Letter to Channel 4 Corporation on its Statement of Media Content Policy 2022 (PDF, 838.5 KB)
Published 12 July 2023
Letter to Channel 4 Corporation on its Statement of Media Content Policy 2021 (PDF, 846.5 KB)
Published 15 July 2022
Letter to Channel 4 Corporation on its Statement of Media Content Policy 2020 (PDF, 319.5 KB)
Published 22 June 2021
Letter to Channel 4 Corporation on its Statement of Media Content Policy 2019 (PDF, 242.1 KB)
Published 29 October 2020
Older reviews are available via the National Archives.
Reviews and reports
2021 broadcast centre incident
We investigated an extended outage of Channel 4’s subtitling, signing and audio description services and found that C4C had breached the conditions of its broadcast licence.
We also undertook a broader review of this incident which highlighted an urgent need for all broadcasters to improve and audit their disaster recovery plans.
Five-year review
This report sets out the findings and conclusions of our second review of C4C’s performance delivery of its duties and covers the period 2014-2018.
Five-year review of Channel 4’s performance in meeting its media content duties