In what Ways Has Channel 4 Altered the Landscape of British Television Broadcasting for Its Competitors?

Channel 4 faces other dangers, of course. Twenty years is a long time in broadcasting, and that is how much time has elapsed since Channel 4 took to the air. Though an imaginative way of reinventing the public service ethos and altering the media landscape for the existing duopoly as it did, it faces serious competition, firstly from the latest terrestrial channel, Channel 5, and then from new technologies including satellite and digital television. It is now difficult to see how Channel 4 can keep its audience share and fulfil its PSB aim simultaneously. Its flagship soap opera, Brookside, has been taken off the air due to lack of interest, and Channel 5's audience share continues to grow due to its shrewd screening of big movies and European football matches. More channels appear every day on satellite and digital, and there are more than enough frequencies available to screen the minority programmes Channel 4 did so successfully in its pomp. Yet, as Jean Seaton recognises, 'the market and the audience for television programmes is altering dramatically under the impact of a whole series of technological changes'. Channel 4 grew and prospered in a climate of accelerating social and cultural change, but changes in broadcasting occur constantly and will not stay still for Channel 4.…