Channel 4 and Disney+ UK have entered into an “ambitious” arrangement which will see the PSB’s content and linear channel made available on the streaming giant from early next year.
Under the deal, multiple Channel 4 (C4) shows will be made available day-and-date on Disney+ each year, including upcoming comedy Stepping Up and Daisy Haggard’s drama Maya, as well as unscripted series like Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Additionally, C4’s linear channel will also be available on the streaming platform, as well as hundreds of hours from its library of major scripted and unscripted titles.
The PSB’s linear channel and on-demand titles will be available via a Channel 4-branded section featuring the same navigation and user experience as the rest of Disney+. This offering will be available to Disney+ subscribers in the UK and Ireland and will be included in their subscription.
C4 and Disney+ leaders said the partnership is one of the most significant the streamer has agreed globally to bring high-quality content to customers in local markets.
Karl Holmes, general manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Disney+, said that C4’s youth-skewing remit chimes with the streamer’s own audience.
“We believe that Channel 4’s shows, and particularly shows which we will be selecting regularly for ‘day and date’ screening on Disney+, are particularly suitable for our younger audience,” he said.
“40% of our audience are aged 16-34: that is the audience we are focused on serving, and we think that this is a core part of making our content prop more attractive and helping to drive our growth in the in the coming years.”
C4 chief executive Priya Dogra emphasised the importance of collaborative partnerships to the health of C4, noting its recent landmark advertising deal with Paramount. The deal with Disney+ recognises the changing viewing patterns of audiences and C4’s need to transform to meet those habits, she added.
“This agreement allows us to reach even more people all across the UK and Ireland with brilliant public service programming, and it will serve as a very important complement to our owned-and-operated linear and streaming services,” she stated.
“[I’ve spoken before about our] broader partnership strategy as part of our transformation, and this is exactly that. It is working collaboratively with a like-minded organisation, and partnerships are going to be the heart of how we continue to evolve, how we continue to take practical action to transform C4, to reshape our distribution, to diversify our revenues and to continue to be sustainable so we can invest in distinctive British programming.”
Dogra also said that any further collaborations with PSBs and media companies will have to be “deep and meaningful”, akin to the Disney+ and Paramount arrangements, and will be evaluated on how they benefit C4.
It is the second significant pact Disney+ has struck with a UK broadcaster in the last 12 months, following on from a deal with ITV that sees the two companies share content from each other’s service on their respective platforms.
However, the arrangement with C4 is materially different, building on the ITV deal and the dozen or so other content arrangements Disney+ has struck with major broadcasters across Europe, according to Holmes.
“It’s an ambitious arrangement with ‘day and date’ shows regularly, a significant library, the linear channel – all the things which we know from other markets work really well and which our customers value,” he elaborated.
“Now we’ll keep learning, and we’re going to choose together what shows come to Disney+, but I characterise this as being a very ambitious gallery.”
Locals and linear reach
Holmes added the partnership dovetails with Disney+ EMEA content boss Angela Jain’s intent to increase investment in local original content, to reinforce the importance of localisation in different EMEA markets.
“We are tripling the volume of local originals we commission, and we’re striking these large, ambitious partnerships with broadcasters wherever we can,” he said. “That’s driving a lot of growth. We’re up by 30% in the last 18 months, and we do believe local is driving that and will continue to drive that.”
Like C4, partnerships are an important part of Disney+’ future, Holmes added, noting he would “love” to have a deep collaboration with the BBC.
Asked about the commercial model and how each would make money from the deal, Dogra and Holmes declined to comment, only commenting that both parties are “happy” with the arrangement.
The carriage arrangement for C4’s linear channel will bolster Disney+’s volume of live programming, said Holmes, and will allow customers to watch how they want – either live, on-demand or on catch-up. “Why would we not offer the broadest possible ways of consuming?” he asked.
This article first appeared in Screen’s sister title Broadcast
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