Channel 4 Calls on Advertisers to “Step Up” for Quality and Trust
Channel 4’s chief commercial officer Rak Patel has challenged advertisers to abandon short-sighted ‘blocklisting’ tactics and back quality media, arguing that only fully regulated environments such as television can safeguard both brand integrity and audience trust.
Speaking on Thursday May 8th at an event geared towards an advertising audience, he opened with stark new data from Channel 4’s recent gen z report showing that “Gen z are grappling with the idea of truth and trust.
“They are unsure about where to turn,” he said. “They report more young people having confidence in social posts from their friends or influencers than in professional journalism.” Faced with this crisis of confidence, he urged advertisers to “step up to support quality content in trusted environments” rather than chase cheap reach on under-regulated platforms.
Digital media’s role in eroding trust
Warning of over-zealous approaches to brand safety, the Channel 4 executive pointed to the practice of ‘blocklisting’, when brands and advertising agencies use keywords such as “attack” and “shooting” to stop their campaigns appearing alongside any content that contains them. “For regulated media outlets like Channel 4, this can mean our valuable inventory is being passed over,” he warned. “This is impacting the funding of quality journalism.”
Turning his fire on certain digital media owners, Rak highlighted a string of high-profile failings, such as unintentional ad funding of child-abuse sites in the US and the recent jailing of the CEO of ad-tech giant Kubient for reportedly fabricating over a million dollars in transactions. “Digital media owners have a choice around the content on their platforms,” he said. “Advertisers have a choice, they have alternatives, on investing in trusted news sources. Outrage about ad placement quality must end. Lets build environments – and content – that everyone can trust.”
Channel 4’s push for industry action
In response to this, he said that the broadcaster is “working hard to encourage industry action and new regulation to ensure young people can find verified, independent news easily on social media.”
Under the chief commercial officer’s leadership, Channel 4 Sales will adopt what he called “a laser focus on sales AND service – we’ll work with brands and agencies to jointly find the right solutions, in partnership,” invoking the media platform’s Ofcom regulation as a “badge of honour”.
“I’m not saying TV is perfect – but our audience protections are a world away from other forms of media,” he continued, noting the regulatory framework that has been built since the birth of commercial TV in the ‘50s. “It is held to the highest standards and viewers know it. Its shows and the advertising it carries are subject to stringent regulation.”
Rak went on to reassure advertisers with the detail of the care the broadcaster puts into creating a brand-safe environment. Every programme and ad on Channel 4 is pre-approved by a person before broadcast, ensuring prohibited material – graphic self-harm, hate speech, terrorism or crime – is never aired. “If you put your child in front of the TV, you can be confident they won’t be exposed to this rubbish. None of this is true of other platforms,” he said.
The TV advantage
“TV advertising carries a potent super-power: sky high standards mixed with knockout creative,” added Rak in a rousing defence of the broadcast media. “TV ads need to meet high standards of accuracy, taste and decency. They also need to captivate and entertain, sitting as they do alongside telly’s knockout mix of dramas, documentaries, reality and more.”
He painted a picture of the public-service model in action:
- British drama, documentaries and independent news funded by ad pounds.
- Family-friendly weekend entertainment that unites over “a cuppa”.
- Cultural milestones such as Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage, which “challenges and changes societal attitudes for the better.”
- Channel 4 hits from ‘Big Boys’ to ‘Gogglebox’, Film4 releases and award-winning journalism.
“When you invest in TV, your product is not at risk of promoting illegal activity. You’re investing in a societal good,” he said.
