Channel 4 is spending less on making programmes than almost ever before as it ramps up efforts to bolster its finances.
The broadcaster, which has produced hits such as Big Boys and Married at First Sight UK, spent £643m on shows last year, including £489m on UK-made programmes.
This was down from £663m the previous year and is among the smallest amounts that Channel 4 has committed to programming since it was launched in 1982, when adjusted for inflation.
The broadcaster spent less in real terms at the height of the pandemic in 2020, as well as several years in the 90s.
The drop-off demonstrates ongoing cost-cutting efforts at Channel 4, which is grappling with a decline in advertising and a broader exodus of younger viewers to streaming rivals and social media platforms.
However, Channel 4 insisted it was growing faster than many of its streaming rivals, as it racked up a record 1.8bn views last year.
The company added that the amount of money it was spending on programming, in proportion to its revenues, was also higher now than in previous years.
The latest spending figures were released as Channel 4 also announced radical new plans to make its own TV shows.
The broadcaster has previously been blocked from making its own programmes, instead buying them from independent production companies.
However, this restriction was lifted following an unsuccessful attempt to privatise the broadcaster by the previous Conservative government.
The company is now searching for a TV executive to lead these in-house facilities, and production is expected to start next year.
Bosses said the production company will be focused on factual entertainment, reality and entertainment genres that have the potential to be sold to other broadcasters and streaming rivals.
It comes amid criticism of Channel 4’s reality programming, which often revolves around sex and dating.
This includes its new show, Virgin Island, which The Telegraph dubbed “painfully awkward for all involved” in a recent review.
In recent years, Channel 4 has diverted programming spend away from daytime shows and towards reality series and dramas.
Alongside in-house production, the broadcaster will start to acquire majority stakes in indie production companies through a new dedicated fund.
Channel 4 has previously angered small producers by slashing its budgets. However, it has insisted that its move into production will be gradual, while the company is increasing its quota of shows sourced from independent producers from 25pc to 35pc.
Trade body Pact, which represents the independent production sector, said it was “bitterly disappointed” by Channel 4’s plans to start buying up producers, saying this would “directly impact market share in an already fragile market”.