9 Live broadcasts quizzes in which viewers can take part by phone or internet. It was trialled on E4 in the seven-week run up to Christmas between 10am and 2pm.
The channel will not carry advertising, but Channel 4 will take a percentage of the profits.
The broadcaster is currently in discussions with 9 Live in Germany to run the channel on Freeview.
A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that negotiations with 9 Live are taking place but stress we are in the very early stages of development."
Channel 4's bid is likely to cause controversy because it pursues a commercial agenda, contrary to its public service remit.
Channel 4, which is state-owned and commercially funded, has recently put forward a proposal to the government asking for £100m, due to a funding shortfall brought on by the rise of multichannel TV.
The new 9 Live channel could fill this shortfall, but is likely to fuel hostility from commercial rivals who have criticised Channel 4 for broadcasting reality TV such as 'Big Brother' instead of "ground-breaking" programming, as laid out on its public service remit.
Broadcast transmission company Crown Castle, which owns a stake in Freeview along with the BBC and BSkyB, revealed it was adding the channel after improvement to the technology that broadcasts the service.
The new channel opportunity is raising considerable interest among UK and US broadcasters.
Disney, which launched ABC1 featuring US sitcoms like '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter' and 'Home Improvement' on Freeview last year, is likely to put forward the channel. It will then be able to run for 18 hours as opposed to the limited 6am-6pm time slot it currently has on Freeview.
Other contenders could include ITV, which is planning to launch ITV4 later this year, and Five, which is planning a children's channel from its popular Milkshake programming strand.
A Crown Castle spokesman said: "Castle has issued a request for proposal to interested parties for additional broadcast capacity, although we can't discuss potential buyers at this stage."
The new channel slot is due to debut on April 1 2005 and the eventual buyer will be tied into an initial 12-month contract.
The news comes as record Christmas sales have increased the number of Freeview households in the UK to 5m, compared with almost 4m at the end of September.
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