Appendix 6: C4C Licence Agreement: Annex: Part 1 Requirements for the provision and content of the Channel 4 service
Licence granted to the Channel Four Television Corporation to provide the Channel 4 service under Part 1 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended) and Part 3 of the Communications Act 2003
1. Definitions and interpretation
In the following paragraphs, unless the content otherwise requires:
“hours/minutes” refers to the number of hours/minutes per calendar year or per week averaged over a calendar year that would be transmitted, measured in “slot times” (that is, including advertising breaks, programme trailers and presentation material during and at the end of programmes) except for material under 10 minutes in length which is measured in “running times” (that is, excluding advertising breaks, programme trailers and presentation material).
2. News
(a)News programmes shall be provided at intervals throughout the period for which the Channel 4 Service is provided, with at least one programme at lunchtimes each weekday and one in the early evening each weekday and a programme in the early evening at weekends on both Saturday and Sunday.
(b)Not less than 208 hours in each calendar year of the Licensing Period of news programmes in peak viewing time shall be included in the Channel 4 Service. Such news programmes shall be of high quality and deal with both national and international matters. Coverage shall be accurate, impartial, authoritative and comprehensive, in terms both of geography and subject matter. Live coverage of important, fast-moving events shall be provided, with news flashes outside regular bulletins as appropriate.
3. Current affairs
The Corporation shall ensure that there are not less than 208 hours in each calendar year of the Licensing Period of current affairs programmes included in the Channel 4 Service which are of high quality and deal with both national and international matters, of which 80 hours shall be in peak viewing time.
4. Schools
Subject to Condition 10(1) the Corporation shall transmit at least 330 hours of schools programmes in each calendar year of the Licensing Period, excluding presentation material. These schools programmes will fulfil the needs of the curriculum and will be supported by a full range of appropriate material.
5. Original productions
At least 60 per cent of the hours of programmes included in the Channel 4 DRL
Channel 4 Service in each calendar year shall be originally produced or commissioned for the Channel 4 Service and at least 70 per cent of the hours of programmes in peak viewing time shall be originally produced or commissioned for the service.
6. Regional production
(a)The Corporation shall ensure that at least 30 per cent of the hours of programmes made in the UK for viewing on the Channel 4 Service shall be produced outside the M25.
(b)The Corporation shall ensure that in any calendar year at least 30 per cent of its expenditure on programmes made in the UK for viewing on the Channel 4 Service shall be allocated to the production of programmes produced outside the M25 and must be referable to programme production at a range of production centres.
7. Independent production
In each calendar year not less than 25 per cent (or such other percentage which the Secretary of State may from time to time by order pursuant to Section 277(3) of the Communications Act specify) of the total amount of time allocated to the broadcasting of Qualifying Programmes in the Channel 4 Service shall be allocated to the broadcasting of a range and diversity of independent productions. For these purposes, the reference to a range of Independent Productions shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 277(2)(c) of the Communications Act and must be include a range in terms of the cost and types of programme.
8. Subtitling, sign language and audio description
In relation to programmes included in the Channel 4 Service that are not excluded programmes at least 90 per cent of programme hours in the Channel 4 Service must be subtitled from the beginning of 2010; at least 10 per cent of programme hours must be audio described; and at least 5 per cent of programme hours must have sign language from the beginning of 2010. The Corporation must achieve such interim targets for subtitling, sign language and audio description as are notified to him in writing by Ofcom or set out in the Ofcom Code on Subtitling, Sign Language and Audio Description.