Channel 4 UK drops All4 VOD brand as part of brand unification strategy

UK public broadcaster Channel 4 has announced that from next year it will bring all its channels and services under one Channel 4 brand to help audiences better navigate the abundance of choice in the digital world and find their favourite Channel 4 shows wherever and whenever they choose to watch content. The most high-profile impact of the move is that the company will retire its popular VOD brand All 4.

Zaid Al-Qassab

As a result, Channel 4 will be the first UK broadcaster to adopt a single brand identity across its digital and linear channels, in contrast for example to ITV’s ITVX and Channel 5’s My5. The company’s “entire portfolio of channels will also align with the Channel 4” though it’s not yet clear what this means for brands like E4.

The decision to unify activities behind the Channel 4 brand comes at a time when the threat of privatisation is receding. It is built on a belief that audiences no longer distinguish between digital and linear content. The company said it follows “Channel 4’s commitment to prioritise digital growth, place viewers at the heart of its decision-making and renew its relationship with young audiences as part of its Future4 strategy”. The process of brand transformation will begin from spring 2023.

Zaid Al-Qassab, chief marketing officer at Channel 4, explained: “As Channel 4 turns 40, we’re responding to the challenge of an increasingly crowded content market by using our most powerful asset, the Channel 4 brand. The creation of a singular brand vision will better serve our viewers and help futureproof the channel to make sure we’re able to continue to take creative risks for the next 40 years. We want to become the viewers’ North Star in the digital world. A valued curator to help them navigate to a destination full of entertaining and thoughtful content they can trust.”

All4, Channel 4’s free streaming service, hit 1.5bn views in 2021 – up 21% y-o-y.