Timeline of Channel 4 facts for kids

Channel 4 is a special TV channel in the United Kingdom. It started in 1982 and was created to show different kinds of programmes. Unlike other channels, it was set up to encourage new ideas and show content that other channels might not. This timeline tells you about some of the most important moments in Channel 4's history, from its beginnings to today.

1970s: The Idea Begins

• 1977
  • 3 February – A group called the Annan Committee suggested some big changes for TV. They thought a new independent TV channel should be made. They also wanted more shows to be made by companies outside of the main TV channels.

• 1979
  • Before the 1979 election, both major political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, wanted a fourth TV channel. Labour wanted it to be for community groups and minorities. The Conservatives thought it should be part of ITV. Both parties also promised a separate TV channel for people who speak Welsh in Wales.

1980s: Channel 4 Launches!

• 1980
  • September – Edmund Dell became the first Chairman of Channel 4. Jeremy Isaacs was chosen as its Chief Executive.
  • 13 November – A new law, the Broadcasting Act 1980, made it possible for the fourth TV channel to be created in the UK.
  • Channel 4 was set up under the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Other ITV companies paid money to support Channel 4. In return, they got to sell advertising time on the new channel.

• 1981
  • 1 January – The Channel Four Television Corporation was officially created. It was meant to run the fourth channel for England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Wales got its own Welsh-language channel called S4C, which also showed some Channel 4 programmes at certain times.

Logo used from 1982 to 1996

• 1982
  • 2 August – Channel 4 started test broadcasts. These mostly showed a special test picture called ETP-1 for many hours each day.
  • 2 November – Channel 4 officially launched across most of the UK! Wales' channel, S4C, had launched the day before. Some areas couldn't get Channel 4 right away because of technical work.
    • 4:40pm: The first announcer, Paul Coia, welcomed viewers to Channel 4.
    • 4:45pm: The very first show was a game show called Countdown. It's still on TV today!
    • 7pm: The first Channel 4 News aired. It was the UK's first hour-long news programme.
    • 8pm: Brookside, Channel 4's own soap opera, started. It ran until 2003.
    • 10:15pm: The Comic Strip Presents...Five Go Mad In Dorset aired. It was a comedy that won an award for 'best comedy'.
  • 4 November – Tom Keating On Painters was broadcast. This show taught viewers about art. It even won an award for its presenter, Tom Keating.
  • 5 November – The music show The Tube began.
  • 7 November – Channel 4 started showing American football. This began its long history of showing the sport.
  • 8 November – Channel 4 showed live sport for the first time. It was a basketball game. Channel 4 wanted to show "minority sports" that weren't usually on BBC or ITV.
  • 14 November – The show Right to Reply launched. It let viewers complain or comment on programmes. It was the only show Channel 4 made completely by itself.
  • 26 December – The famous animated film The Snowman premiered on Channel 4.
  • 27 December – Channel 4 had its first "theme night," called Fifties to the Fore. It showed old TV programmes from the 1950s.

• 1983
  • 30 January – Channel 4 was the first UK broadcaster to show the Super Bowl live.
  • 18 March – Channel 4 started showing teletext pages on screen. These were like digital magazines with news and information.

• 1984
  • 14 February – A follow-up art show, Tom Keating On Impressionism, aired.
  • 22 March – Horse racing coverage started on Channel 4 with Channel 4 Racing.
  • 15 October – Channel 4 started broadcasting earlier in the afternoons on weekdays and weekends.
  • November – Two years after launching, Channel 4 could be watched in almost all parts of the UK.

• 1985
  • 2–4 January – A mini-series called A Woman of Substance got a huge audience of 13.8 million viewers. This was Channel 4's biggest audience at the time.
  • 5 October – Channel 4 started showing horse racing on weekends.

• 1986
  • A report suggested Channel 4 should be allowed to sell its own advertising time.
  • Some people tried to get advertisers to stop working with Channel 4 because of its programmes.
  • 19 September – Channel 4 started showing a red triangle symbol at the start of films with mature themes. This was stopped within a year.
  • 18 October – Channel 4 began broadcasting on weekend mornings.

• 1987
  • Sir Richard Attenborough became the new Chairman of Channel 4.
  • Channel 4 could now be received from all TV transmitters in the UK.
  • 23 April – Channel 4 started broadcasting late into the night on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. This included a discussion show called After Dark that was live and had no set end time.
  • 14 September – Educational programmes for schools moved to Channel 4. This meant the channel broadcast for more hours on weekdays.
  • 21 September – New daytime shows were introduced, including a business news programme and a children's slot called Just4Fun.
  • 30 October – Dispatches, a major current affairs documentary series, began.

• 1988
  • 11 January – The quiz show Fifteen to One started.
  • 15 February – Channel 4 began broadcasting late into the night every day of the week.
  • 17 September–2 October – Channel 4 showed overnight and breakfast coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

• 1989
  • February – Channel 4 started broadcasting in digital stereo sound.
  • 3 April – Channel 4 launched its morning TV service, The Channel Four Daily.

1990s: New Independence and Shows

• 1990
  • A new law allowed Channel 4 to sell its own advertising time starting in 1993. Before this, ITV companies sold Channel 4's ads.
  • 19 February – The documentary series Cutting Edge began.

• 1991
  • 8 April – Channel 4 had a special "Banned season". It showed films and programmes that had been banned or were very controversial in the UK. This included films like Scum and Monty Python's Life of Brian. This season caused a lot of discussion and even led to an investigation.

• 1992
  • Sir Michael Bishop became the new Chairman of Channel 4.
  • 6 September – Football Italia started. Channel 4 showed Italian football for the next ten years.
  • 25 September – The last The Channel Four Daily was broadcast.
  • 28 September – A new morning show, The Big Breakfast, began.

• 1993
  • 1 January – Channel 4 became an independent company.
  • 25 December – Channel 4 aired its first "Alternative Christmas message". This was a message from a famous person, often someone controversial, instead of the Queen. The first one was from Quentin Crisp.

• 1994
  • 16 January – The archaeology series Time Team started.
  • 6 July – Channel 4 moved into its new main office in London.

• 1995
  • 23 October – The soap opera Hollyoaks began.

Logo used from 1996 to 1999

• 1996
  • 11 October – Channel 4 changed its on-screen look and logo for the first time in nearly 14 years.

• 1997
  • Michael Jackson became Chief Executive of Channel 4.
  • 6 January – Channel 4 started broadcasting 24 hours a day.

• 1998
  • Vanni Treves became the new Chairman of Channel 4.
  • 28 February – The 1998 Africa Cup of Nations Final was shown live. It was the first time this football tournament was shown in the UK.
  • 25 October – The T4 weekend morning programming block for young people began.

Logo used from 1999 to 2004

• • 1 November – FilmFour launched as a channel you had to pay for.

• 1999
  • 2 April – Channel 4 launched a new on-screen look.
  • 1 July – Channel 4 started broadcasting cricket, after getting the rights from the BBC.

2000s: Digital Age and New Channels

• 2000
  • 18 July – The reality show Big Brother was first broadcast. It became very popular.

• 2001
  • 18 January – E4 launched as a pay channel, showing entertainment programmes.
  • 20 April – Right to Reply, the show where viewers could comment, was stopped.
  • 26 November – Richard & Judy, a new live chat show, started.

• 2002
  • March – Mark Thompson became Chief Executive of Channel 4.
  • 29 March – The final The Big Breakfast was broadcast.
  • 29 April – Channel 4's third morning TV programme, RI:SE, began.

• 2003
  • 21 April – Channel 4 aired the 1000th episode of Hollyoaks.
  • 4 November – The final episode of Brookside aired after 21 years.
  • 19 December – The morning show RI:SE ended. Also, the original run of Fifteen to One finished after 15 years.

• 2004

Logo used from 2004 to 2015

• • 1 July – Andy Duncan became Chief Executive of Channel 4.
  • 5 November – Channel 4 started showing the popular American cartoon The Simpsons, taking over from the BBC.
  • 31 December – Channel 4 changed its on-screen look and idents (the short clips shown before programmes).

• 2005
  • 27 May – E4 became a free channel, meaning you didn't have to pay to watch it.
  • 26 June – Richard Whiteley, the original presenter of Countdown, sadly passed away.
  • 5 October – More4 launched, showing documentaries and arts programmes.
  • 31 October – The game show Deal or No Deal began.

• 2006
  • 27 March – The Paul O'Grady Show moved to Channel 4.
  • 23 July – Film4 was relaunched as a free-to-air channel. It also started showing commercials during films for the first time.
  • 16 November – Channel 4 launched its on-demand service, 4oD, allowing viewers to watch shows online.
  • 10 December – Channel 4 launched an HD (high-definition) service.

• 2007
  • November – Channel 4 celebrated its 25th anniversary with special programmes.
  • 2 November – For its 25th birthday, Channel 4 brought back its original 1982 idents for one day. They also repeated the first Countdown episode.

• 2008
  • 15 August – 4Music launched.
  • 22 August – The final Richard & Judy show was broadcast on Channel 4.
  • 30 October – Channel 4's teletext service closed down.

• 2009
  • 18 December – The final The Paul O'Grady Show was broadcast on Channel 4.

2010s: More Digital and Sports

• 2010
  • 31 March – Channel 4 became available to all viewers in Wales as the country completed its digital TV switchover. This meant S4C became a full-time Welsh language channel.
  • 10 September – The final Big Brother episode was broadcast on Channel 4 after ten years.

• 2011
  • 26 August – Channel 4 stopped showing repeats of the American sitcom Friends.

• 2012
  • 4 July – 4seven launched, a new channel showing popular programmes from Channel 4's main schedule.
  • 29 August–9 September – Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. This was a big moment for disability sport coverage.
  • 29 December – The T4 programming block for young people ended after more than 14 years.

• 2014
  • 7–16 March – Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2014 Winter Paralympics. This was the first time the Winter Paralympics had been shown on British TV.
  • 5 April – Fifteen to One returned to TV on a permanent basis.
  • 7 September – The final episode of Time Team aired after more than 20 years.

• 2015

Logo used from 2015 to 2022

• • 30 March – Channel 4's on-demand service was renamed All 4.
  • 29 September – Channel 4 launched new idents and a presentation package.

• 2016
  • 18 March – Channel 4 started showing Formula One motor racing.
  • 7–18 September – Channel 4 broadcast live coverage of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
  • 23 December – The final episode of Deal or No Deal was broadcast.
  • 27 December – Channel 4 Racing ended after more than 32 years. Horse racing coverage moved back to ITV.

• 2017
  • 7 January – Channel 4 broadcast darts for the first time.
  • 16 July – Channel 4 and More4 showed live coverage of the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 football tournament.
  • 29 August – Channel 4 aired its first episode of The Great British Bake Off, a very popular cooking show.
  • 31 October – Channel 4 launched new idents featuring a giant figure made of the Channel 4 blocks.

• 2018
  • 2 June – Channel 4 showed live rugby union for the first time.
  • 27 September – E4, More4, Film4, 4Music and 4seven all got new logos based on the main Channel 4 logo.
  • 31 October – Channel 4 announced that its main office would move to Leeds.

• 2019
  • 16 March – Channel 4 began a new Formula One contract, showing highlights of most races and live coverage of the British Grand Prix.
  • 28 June – Fifteen to One ended for a second time.
  • 14 July – Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final. This was the first time live cricket had been on free TV since 2005.

2020s: Recent Events

• 2020
  • 25 March – Channel 4 added "Stay at Home" messages to its channels during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • 30 March – Channel 4 started showing a live weekday daytime show called The Steph Show, which later became Steph's Packed Lunch.

• 2021
  • 5 February – Test cricket returned to Channel 4 after more than 15 years.
  • 9 April – Channel 4 received some comments for not cancelling most of its shows after the death of Prince Philip, choosing to continue with popular programmes like Hollyoaks and Gogglebox.
  • 24 August – 5 September – The 2021 Summer Paralympics were shown live on Channel 4 and More4.
  • 6 September – Channel 4 opened its new headquarters in Leeds.
  • 11 September – Channel 4 made a last-minute deal to show the 2021 US Open – Women's Singles final live, as British player Emma Raducanu reached the final.
  • 25 September – Channel 4 and its sister channels went off air for several hours due to a technical problem at their broadcast provider. This caused issues with subtitles and other services for a while.

Logo used since 2022

• 2022
  • 12 February – Live Super League (rugby league) matches were broadcast on free TV for the first time on Channel 4.
  • 4 June – Channel 4 started showing live matches of the England football team as part of a new deal.
  • 29 June – E4 Extra launched, and 4Music became a full-time music channel again.
  • 27 September – Channel 4 HD moved to a more prominent channel number (104) on Sky, Freesat, and Virgin Media in many parts of the UK.

• 2023
  • 8 July – Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final.

See also

• Fourth UK television service
• Channel 4
• S4C
• Timeline of S4C
• Timeline of sport on Channel 4