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Channel 4's broadcast licence has been renewed by Ofcom for 10 years, with the new agreement including a provision to increase the programming it commissions from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The broadcaster's new 10-year licence will begin on 1 January 2015. It includes a commitment to triple the programming volume and spend commissioned from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from 3% to 9% of total Channel 4 output from 2020.
This means that Channel 4 will have to increase its proportion of TV spend and volume in these countries by a minimum of an estimated 60% and 30% respectively from its current levels, according to Ofcom.
The regulator said that by diversifying programme production from outside of England it will benefit viewers with a greater range of programming, particularly as it will give a broader reflection of different communities and cultures in the UK.
However, Ofcom has decided that Channel 4's level of schools programming will remain the same as during the previous licence period, despite consulting on changing its quota level of a minimum of 30 minutes a year.
Ofcom said: "None of the responses to our consultation argued that a change to the schools programming quota in the Channel 4 licence was an effective means of improving delivery of Channel 4's remit for education."
Ofcom began consulting on the licence conditions for a renewed Channel 4 licence in July last year. It subsequently ran a further consultation in January on Channel 4's commitment to programme production in the nations.
Ofcom renewed the licences for the UK's other commercial broadcasters with public service broadcasting remits – ITV, UTV, STV and Channel 5 – for 10 years from 1 January 2015 in February.
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