Institution Research

Now that I have analysed documentaries, I need to research into institutions that exhibit documentaries. In order to make a documentary, I will have to make a decision regarding which institution will exhibit my product.

About Channel 4

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded public service broadcaster. Channel 4 do not receive any public funding and are known to be an innovative, experimental and distinctive broadcaster. Channel 4 works across television, film and digital media to deliver a public service.

Channel 4 was launched on 2nd November 1982. It is funded predominantly by advertising and sponsorship, but unlike other broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 is not shareholder owned. Channel 4 is a statutory corporation, independent of Government, and governed by a unitary board made up of executive and non-executive directors, who are responsible for ensuring that Channel 4 fulfils its remit and delivers its financial responsibilities.

In addition to the main Channel 4 service, other branches of Channel 4 includes E4, More4, Film4 and 4Music, as well as an ever-growing range of online activities that includes channel4.com, Channel 4's bespoke video-on-demand service 4oD. Through Film4, Channel 4 is also a key supporter of British film making talent.

As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is required to commission UK content from the independent production sector. The institution is a major investor in the UK's creative economy, working with around 300 creative companies from across the UK every year and investing significantly in training and talent development throughout the industry.

I have found that Channel 4 are huge investors in the documentary genre and have created many different sub-genres in order to make the genre appealing to other target audiences. Channel 4 create a range of different documentaries, spanning from documentaries looking at nature to healthy living based documentaries. Channel 4's show Dispatches has recently become a controversial yet popular documentary in Great Britain by looking, discussing and uncovering breakthrough news and current affairs.

Now I must consider whether this institution would be suitable for broadcasting my product. To this I would say yes, as it broadcasts a great amount of diverse documentaries. It also broadcasts documentaries that are similar to the documentary I hope to create.

About the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation was founded in 1922 and is based in London, England. The BBC operates television and radio channels, as well as offering online media services worldwide. The BBC's television services focus on news, general entertainment, comedies, dramas, lifestyle shows, children's programming, wildlife programmes, food programming and documentaries. It exhibits these types of programmes through a wide range of television channels. The BBC also has a wide range of radio stations that broadcast music, news and current affairs, cultural programming, speech-based entertainment and sports coverage.

In 1927 the government decided to establish the British Broadcasting Corporation as a broadcasting corporation operated by a board of governors. The BBC was funded by a licence fee at a rate set by parliament. The fee was paid by all owners of radio sets. The BBC therefore became the world's first public-service broadcasting organization. 


The BBC is the largest broadcaster in the world with over 23'000 staff and unlike any other broadcaster, within the United Kingdom its work is funded principally by an annual television license fee, which is charged to all United Kingdom households, companies and organisations  that receive and BBC television broadcasts. The level of the fee is set annually by the British Government and agreed by Parliament. 


The BBC are also huge investors in the documentary genre, channels such as BBC2 and BBC4 are known to show many documentaries.  The BBC would be a good institution to exhibit my documentary programme, however the BBC usually stick to very conventional, informative documentaries in order not to offend because it's audiences fund the company.



About ITV


ITV was set up in 1955 as direct competition to the BBC and is now the biggest commercial television broadcaster in the UK and is funded primarily by advertisements and sponsorships.  ITV has a huge portfolio of channels, including ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, CiTV and more. It also has an online media demand service, as well as providing services on mobile phones.
Unlike many other television broadcasters, ITV is now owner by a single company. It governed by a regulatory body , which was initially the Independent Television Authority, but later the Independent Broadcasting Authority, and Ofcom.  
ITV isn't well known for broadcasting documentaries as the channel primarily focuses on entertainment programmes. 


About YouTube

Youtube is a website that operates worldwide and it allows users to share and view videos. It was set up as a independent company in February 2005 however it was purchased by Google in 2006. The company is based in San Bruno, California and allows its users to exhibit a wide variety of video content, including movie trailers, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as blogging and short films. Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals, although media corporations such as the BBC, offer some of their material via the site.