Channel 4 to Make its Entire Catalogue of TV Programs Available Online for Free

Channel 4 is set to become the first major UK broadcaster to offer their entire archive of television programs online completely for free.

Channel4.com relaunched on 1st April 2009 with their 4oD TV Catch-up service as its primary selling point. From July however, all this will change and PC, Mac and Linux users will be able to watch Channel 4’s complete programming history on Channel4.com.

Frankly, I’m not only impressed Channel4 has decided to make the move but I’m genuinely excited. Shows like Queer as Folk, Trigger Happy TV, Drop the Dead Donkey and more will be a couple of mouse clicks away – a danger to productivity levels but a convenience all the same.

Jon Gisby, who was made Channel 4’s Director of Future Media & Technology in 2007, said:

“We were the first broadcaster to launch a comprehensive video-on-demand service in 2006 and since that time 4oD has become one of the UK’s most popular VOD brands. The addition of archived content to 4oD on channel4.com means we will be the only UK broadcaster to have all of our content available online. We are extremely proud of the new and improved service and think the combination of fantastic content that’s easy to find and view will prove a compelling service for all users.”

Similar to Joost, Channel 4 has taken the decision to close its 4oD desktop application once all the archived content is available via Channel4.com.

For you non-Brits out there, unfortunately there aren’t any plans to offer the service internationally just yet.