Channel 4 Piles Pressure On BBC As Back Catalogue Goes Online For Free

Channel 4 has become the first mainstream UK broadcaster to announce that it will be putting all its archived programming content online for free.

More than 4,000 hours of rights-cleared content - or 10,000 programme titles - will be available online including the classics like Brass Eye, Father Ted and Teachers as well as regular series like the F word, Grand Designs and Bremner, Fortune and Bird.

Channel 4 currently has an on demand service called 4OD which allows users to browse through thousands of classic Channel 4 shows. The range will substantially increase in July and will scrap the 30 days period offered by the broadcaster to users to view programmes.

However, rather strangely, Channel 4 news won't be included in the deal as will some US shows like the still-popular TV series Friends. Other films and shows are available for download at a fee, starting from 99p for a single programme to £1.99 for a movie from Film4.

The revamped 4OD has proved to be a hit with the fact that it is compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows and that like most other online players, it no longer needs a clunky client to play the content.

Channel 4's announcement comes after the Competition Commission stopped Project Kangaroo, the online venture by BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to create a commercial video on demand version of Freeview, to go ahead.

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