television station . for other uses see channel 4 disambiguation . this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable . please help this article by looking for better more reliable sources . unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted . march 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . march 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . july 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message channel 4 launched 2 november 1982 ; 33 years ago 1982 11 02 owned by channel four television corporation picture format 576i sdtv 16 9 1080i hdtv 16 9 audience share 4.55 % 0.77 % 1 september 2015 2015 09 barb country united kingdom sister channel s 4seven film4 e4 more4 4music box upfront the box box hits kerrang kiss magic timeshift service channel 4 1 channel 4 1 hd website www.channel4.com availability terrestrial freeview channel 4 channel 7 wales channel 13 1 channel 104 hd channel 109 1 hd satellite freesat channel 104 sd channel 120 wales channel 121 1 channel 126 hd sky uk channel 104 sd channel 117 wales channel 135 1 channel 227 hd sky ireland channel 135 channel 136 1 astra 2e 10714 h 22000 5 6 10729 v 22000 5 6 1 astra 2f 11127 v 22000 5 6 hd cable virgin media uk channel 104 sd channel 143 1 channel 142 hd virgin media ireland channel 111 channel 142 hd cablecom switzerland channel 163 ch d wightfibre channel 4 iptv swisscom tv switzerland channel arbitrary streaming media all 4 watch live tvplayer watch live uk only sky go watch live uk and ireland only virgin tv anywhere watch live uk only watch live 1 uk only c4 headline typeface used by channel 4 channel 4 is a british public service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 november 1982 . although largely commercially self funded it is ultimately publicly owned ; originally a subsidiary of the independent broadcasting authority iba 1 the station is now owned and operated by channel four television corporation a public corporation of the department for culture media & sport 2 which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993 . with the conversion of the wenvoe transmitter group in wales to digital on 31 march 2010 channel 4 became a uk wide tv channel for the first time . the channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the united kingdom in addition to the licence funded bbc s two services and the single commercial broadcasting network itv . contents 1 history 1.1 conception 1.2 wales 1.3 launch and iba control 1.4 channel four television corporation 1.5 future 2 public service remit 3 carriage 4 funding 5 programming 5.1 most watched programmes 5.2 comedy 5.3 factual and current affairs 5.4 fourdocs 5.5 schools programming 5.5.1 itv schools on channel 4 5.5.2 channel 4 schools 4learning 5.6 film 5.7 wank week 5.8 global warming 5.9 ahmadinejad s christmas speech 5.10 crazy about one direction 5.11 4talent 5.11.1 4talent magazine 6 regions 6.1 future possibility of regional news 7 channel 4 hd 8 all 4 9 teletext services 9.1 4 tel fourtext 9.2 teletext on 4 10 awards and nominations 11 see also 12 references 13 external links history edit conception edit main article fourth uk television service before channel 4 and s4c britain had three terrestrial television services bbc1 bbc2 and itv . the broadcasting act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth and channel 4 along with its welsh counterpart was formally created by an act of parliament in 1982 . after some months of test broadcasts it began scheduled transmissions on 2 november 1982 . the notion of a second commercial broadcaster in the united kingdom had been around since the inception of itv in 1954 and its subsequent launch in 1955 ; the idea of an itv2 was long expected and pushed for . indeed television sets sold throughout the 1970s and early 1980s had a spare channel called itv iba 2 . throughout itv s history and until channel 4 finally became a reality a perennial dialogue existed between the gpo the government the itv companies and other interested parties concerning the form such an expansion of commercial broadcasting would take . it was most likely politics which had the biggest impact in leading to a delay of almost three decades before the second commercial channel became a reality . 3 with what can crudely be summed up as a clash of ideologies between an expansion of itv s commercial ethos and a public service approach more akin to the bbc it was ultimately something of a compromise that eventually led to the formation of channel 4 as launched in 1982 . one clear benefit of the late arrival of the channel was that its frequency allocations at each transmitter had already been arranged in the early 1960s when the launch of an itv2 was highly anticipated . 3 this led to very good coverage across most of the country and few problems of interference with other uk based transmissions ; a stark contrast to the problems associated with channel 5 s launch fourteen and a half years later citation needed . wales edit main article s4c at the time the fourth service was being considered a movement in wales lobbied for the creation of dedicated service that would air welsh language programmes then only catered for at off peak times on bbc wales and htv . the campaign was taken so seriously by gwynfor evans former president of plaid cymru that he threatened the government with a hunger strike were it not to honour the plans . 4 the result was that channel 4 as seen by the rest of the united kingdom would be replaced in wales by sianel pedwar cymru s4c channel four wales . operated by a specially created authority s4c would air programmes in welsh made by htv the bbc or independent companies . initially limited frequency space meant that channel 4 could not be broadcast alongside s4c though some channel 4 programmes would be aired at less popular times on the welsh variant a practice that carried on up until the closure of s4c s analogue transmissions in 2010 . since then carriage on digital cable satellite and digital terrestrial has introduced channel 4 to welsh homes where it is now universally available . launch and iba control edit the first voice heard on channel 4 s opening day of tuesday 2 november 1982 was that of continuity announcer paul coia who intoned good afternoon . it s a pleasure to be able to say to you welcome to channel four before heading into a montage of clips from its programmes set to the station s signature tune fourscore written by lord david dundas which would form the basis of the station s jingles for its first decade . the first programme to air on the channel was the teatime game show countdown at 16 45 produced by yorkshire television ; it is still running to this day . the first person to be seen on channel 4 was richard whiteley with ted moult being the second . the first woman on the channel contrary to popular belief was not carol vorderman and was a lexicographer only ever identified as mary . whiteley opened the show with the words as the countdown to a brand new channel ends a brand new countdown begins . on its first day channel 4 also broadcast controversial soap opera brookside which ran until 2003 . on its launch channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to the existing channels an agenda in part set out by its remit which required the provision of programming to minority groups . in step with its remit the channel became well received both by minority groups and the arts and cultural worlds during this period especially under founding chief executive jeremy isaacs where the channel gained a reputation for programmes on the contemporary arts . channel 4 co commissioned robert ashley s ground breaking television opera perfect lives 5 which it premiered over several episodes in 1984 . the channel often did not receive mass audiences for much of this period however as might be expected for a station focusing on minority interest . channel 4 for many years had a poorer quality signal compared to other channels . where citation needed channel 4 also began the funding of independent films such as the merchant ivory docudrama the courtesans of bombay during this time . in 1992 channel 4 also faced its first libel case by jani allan a south african journalist who objected to her representation in the documentary the leader his driver and the driver s wife . 6 channel four television corporation edit channel 4 headquarters in london . main article channel four television corporation after control of the station passed from the channel four television company to the channel four television corporation in 1993 a shift in broadcasting style took place . instead of aiming for the fringes of society it began to focus on the edges of the mainstream and the centre of the mass market itself . citation needed it began to show many us programmes in peak viewing time far more than it had previously done . it gave such shows as friends and er their uk premi res . in the early 2000s channel 4 began broadcasting reality formats such as big brother and obtained the rights to broadcast mass appeal sporting events like cricket and horse racing . this new direction increased ratings and revenues . in addition the corporation launched a number of new television channels through its new 4ventures offshoot including film4 at the races e4 and more4 . partially in reaction to its new populist direction the communications act 2003 directed the channel to demonstrate innovation experimentation and creativity appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society and to include programmes of an educational nature which exhibit a distinctive character . 7 on 31 december 2004 channel 4 launched a new look and new idents in which the logo is disguised as different objects and the 4 can be seen in an angle . under the leadership of freeview founder andy duncan 2005 saw a change of direction for channel 4 s digital channels . channel 4 made e4 free to air on digital terrestrial television and launched a new free to air digital channel called more4 . by october channel 4 had joined the freeview consortium . 8 by july 2006 film4 had also become a free to air and restarted broadcasting on digital terrestrial . 9 venturing into radio broadcasting 2005 saw channel 4 purchase 51 per cent of shares in the now defunct oneword radio station with ubc media holding on to the remaining shares . new programmes such as the weekly half hour the morning report news programme were among some of the new content channel 4 provided for the station with the name 4radio being used . as of early 2009 however channel 4 s future involvement in radio remained uncertain . on 2 november 2007 the station celebrated its twenty fifth birthday . it showed the first episode of countdown an anniversary countdown special as well as a special edition