I feel like I have spent the week with the Channel 4 and 4Studio team!
I had Leena Patel on a panel last week and then listened religiously to Joe Harbinson speaking to Liz Ferguson from Youtube, at OTT Question Time Live 2025. Today, we welcome our first-ever guest, Matt Risley, Managing Director of 4Studio at Channel 4.
Channel 4 has made a bold shift in its approach to YouTube—transforming it from a marketing tool to a primary broadcast and monetisation platform. Matt shares - in an exclusive for The Media Odyssey - insights and data on how they tested, adapted, and expanded their YouTube presence, the challenges faced, and the data-driven results that followed (yes you will get actual data points on their catalog’s / audience / revenue growth!).
Why this episode matters:
YouTube is not a TV channel but YouTube is becoming TV 2.0. With 1B hours of video content watched on YouTube in the living room every day, we can no longer discard the platform as just another UGC video platform viewers play around on their downtime.
YouTube is part of 2.7B monthly active users’ viewing habits. It is seen as a must have service.
This calls for a strategy think at a minimum. M&E companies can then decide to ignore or embrace the platform. 4Studio decided to embrace it.
I’m sure this episode will stir a lot of discussions within the community. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Watch the latest episode right here in this edition but if you prefer watching on YouTube, Apple or Spotify, there you go:
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That’s it for today but before you go:
Enjoy your day and see you on Saturday for the next Weekend Wrap Up edition of Streaming Made Easy!
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