In an “increasingly timid broadcasting environment,” Channel 4 content boss Ian Katz has said the network is going where rivals are refusing to go.
Speaking at last night’s annual dinner at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Katz flagged recent documentaries Gaza: Doctors Under Attack and 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story as proof that Channel 4 is taking risks while others “reach for international formats and reboots.”
“Where others bottle it, we broadcast it,” said Katz, flagging the Gaza: Doctors Under Attack saga as an exemplar.
Produced by ex-Channel 4 News boss Ben de Pear, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was initially forged for the BBC but was dropped by the corporation over the risk of “creating a perception of partiality” after its director criticized Israel on the Today programme. This came amid the separate Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone scandal, which impacted the BBC for months.
After the BBC shelved Doctors Under Attack, Channel 4 swooped in and aired the doc several weeks back to a strong set of reviews.
“One of the things I’m proudest of this year is the fact that we aired Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a film which some considered too hot to handle,” Katz said last night. “I think that decision reflected our commitment to independent journalism and public interest broadcasting. I also think it underscored the fact that in the increasingly timid broadcasting environment, Channel 4 is still willing to take risks, whether it’s around tackling stories that others won’t, betting on British IP when others are reaching for international formats and reboots or backing new talent when others are reverting to the same clutch of familiar names.”
Katz praised Channel 4 interim CEO Jonathan Allan for approving the doc’s broadcast on his first day in the gig, describing this as “the most bracing first day that anyone’s ever experienced.” His reference to “international formats and reboots” could reopen old wounds. At Edinburgh 2022, he locked horns with then-BBC content boss Charlotte Moore, who criticized his take on reboots, stating “well, Channel 4 bought The Great British Bake Off back.”
Katz said Channel 4’s risk-taking penchant applies not only to Doctors Under Attack but to “programmes that open up noisy, conversation-driving topics to broad audiences” such as the Bonnie Blue documentary, which has been criticized for its content and has seen a number of advertisers pull their advertising. Channel 4 has continued to stand by the doc throughout.
Katz will address the fest again later today during a Spotlight Session.
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