C4 opens 4oD up to rivals

Channel 4 is offering third-party content on its video-on-demand service, 4oD, for the first time, after signing a deal with National Geographic.

From this week, a National Geographic-branded area of the 4oD site is hosting wildlife programming from the US-owned channel's archive.

The move is the first of several such deals that C4 hopes to strike with third parties to complement its archive of TV and film content that has previously aired on C4, E4 and More4, which now runs to 2,500 hours.

As with the production companies behind C4's own shows, National Geographic will get a share of fee revenues from the site.

"National Geographic was a great fit for us because we don't do many wildlife programmes," said C4's new business director Rod Henwood. "It's a major deal for us and is symbolic of our desire to be an aggregator. We're talking with everybody in this space now."

C4 also added a programme showcase called Content Lounge to the 4oD service, which is sponsored by Intel.

Source: BroadcastNow.co.uk