FILM 4

History Film4 was launched on the 1st November 1998. It was originally

called filmfour. The second of channel fours channels ( after channel 4 itself). Originally a subscription based program for sky network via itv digital (before itv digital went into administration). The first film to be broadcast on this was “what’s eating gilbert grape”. Additional channels were added at a later date (filmfour world and filmfour extreme) and filmfour+1 . Filmfour world and filmfour extreme were discontinued in 2003 and replaced by filmfour weekly. Filmfour weekly was discontinued in 2006 when the service stopped becoming a subscription company. On the 19 july 2006 the channel ended its subscription based business model and on the 23rd july it started it’s free to watch business model as part of the freeview brand which increased it’s availability from 300,000 (subscribers) to 18 million households. The first film it aired on it’s free subscription model was the british premier of “lost in translation”.

About Film 4 Film 4 show a wide range of films including British

films, US independent films, Hollywood blockbusters, mainstream drama and comedy, foreign films and cult cinema.

They also show interviews about films with the actors and directors.

As well as just showing films they make them, films such as trainspotting and academy award winning ‘slum dog millionaire’.

Filmography

Since 2004 film 4 have been involved in the production of 52 films.

They have helped finance 42 films since 2003.

Trainspotting Trainspotting was not a huge blockbuster.

However it helped expand the film4 reputation, its controversial theme and morals were never going to sell out to the ,millions but the film was a huge success in the market it was aimed at and it gave film4 the reputation of a top quality film producer.

It made 16 million, and they spent 3.5million on the film production.

In the opening weekend it made $ 200,000. However it was most successful when it was sold

on DVD.

Business