Putting your start-up in the spotlight
At Channel 4 Ventures, we help companies reach up to 50 million consumers a month
What we offer
We invest TV media into early-stage consumer companies in exchange for equity
Media budget - a flexible budget of £2m+ to use across the Channel 4 portfolio - TV, streaming and UKTV - in exchange for equity. No cash is involved
We aim to be founder-friendly, a partner that is highly supportive throughout your growth journey. We are passionate and expert consumer investors, champions for the consumer sector generally and the UK as a hub for consumer
We’re a long-term partner that likes supporting our portfolio companies in future investment rounds, brand building can take time over multiple rounds
We offer a passive equity investment model, which may allow for more flexibility than other investment options. We are committed about our role in supporting the consumer investment ecosystem in the UK over the long term
Be seen alongside some of the UK’s biggest shows
Get seen alongside Channel 4’s agenda-setting entertainment. We help early-stage companies become household names by putting them alongside some of the nation’s most loved shows.
About our audience
Channel 4’s unique editorial direction offers an alternative to mainstream TV networks, attracting affluent and youthful audiences—making it a strong fit for scaling digital businesses. Our content spans everything from the entertaining to the thought-provoking, the serious to the comedic, ensuring the perfect fit for your brand’s advert.
We’re a network of 12 television channels plus a streaming platform, reaching the vast majority of the UK population every month
Channel 4's streaming service has nearly 30m registered users, and reached 69% of households in 2023
More than any other UK commercial streamer
Ahead of its commercial peers
Frequently asked
We get it – exchanging equity for TV advertising isn’t the norm. Here are the top questions we get asked by start-ups:
With its widestream reach into 50m homes monthly and a long standing reputation for innovation, Channel 4 is a great choice for many early stage businesses. Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment and has a long track record of engaging generation after generation of young people.
Channel 4 Ventures is part of Channel 4, the UK public service broadcaster. Channel 4 is a unique organisation that does not have shareholders and whose purpose is to create change through entertainment.
Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned, but commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic, and social impact across the UK.
Most start-ups focus on a small number of digital marketing channels, and performance marketing strategies. This may be because of limited cash resources or a lack of confidence on the use of brand marketing channels.
We also believe that the start-up ecosystem regularly overlooks the role of brand equity development generally. We are seeking to support companies on the first steps on that journey.
TV remains the most powerful media form in the UK in terms of reach, scale, and value, and as a result, we see many types of impact on the businesses that use it as a brand building channel. This can include increased revenue, improved profitability plus additional ‘halo’ impacts. For more information, see the ‘About TV’ page.
We like to back consumer brands which have the potential to create significant shareholder value. Our investment remit is therefore broad – we back both UK and international companies, from seed to pre-IPO stages. We are flexible and pragmatic if there is a commercial opportunity.
Yes, largely! We have some guidelines in place to balance the audiences Channel 4 has and the timelines within which companies wish to deploy the media, but aside from these, the media can be deployed on Channel 4 advertising as desired. These guidelines also apply to all advertisers who purchase with cash.
Broad geographical targeting (6 regions: London, South, Midlands, North, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) is possible on Channel 4 itself. More specific targeting (based on location, interest, demographics, or first/third party data) is possible via Channel 4 Streaming.
