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Outlining his statement of promise for 2003 and early 2004 period, director of programmes Tim Gardam, revealed that the channel would provide a wide range of original and risky content as part of its strategy for the 2003-2004 schedule.

The state-owned but advertising-funded station's schedule is to run original drama for 50 weeks of the year, including a new series of 'Teachers', '20 Things to Do Before You're 30' and 'Forty' among them.

Art features high up the channel's agenda with a series on Van Gogh and the return of 'The Art Show', while multicultural drama will be provided by 'Made in Britain' and 'Forbidden Fruit'.

Documentaries featured include subjects such as filmmaker Kim Longintto's 'Female Circumcision' and another called 'Dying for Drugs' from True Vision. The channel is also showing the £1.5m production of John Adam's opera 'The Death of Klinghoffer'.

The content aims to fulfil the objectives set by chief executive Mark Thompson, who indicated that he would shake up the channel's schedule to give it back its edge and diversity when he delivered the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Fesitival last year.

However, Gardam said the channel has a tough time ahead if it is to realise its ambitions.

"Channel 4 faces a number of competing pressures: an increasingly commercial BBC, the prospect of a single ITV and a new owner of Five," he said.

Gardam also highlighted the acceleration in take-up of multichannel services as a cause for concern for channels that are not funded by the public.

He said: "In 2003 and 2004, Channel 4 has to prove that it remains possible, in a digital world, for a channel without public funding to place its public service values to the fore at the same time as it remains commercially competitive."

In his statement of promise, Gardam added that while taking risks was important to his strategy, commercial funding was also crucial for the channel.

"Without commercial success, Channel 4 will not earn the income to fund those projects of cultural risk and diversity that it would not make commercial sense for a shareholder-based enterprise to undertake. Channel 4 needs commercial ambition to fulfil its cultural ambitions," he said.

Channel 4 said it has committed £10m annually to making seven to eight films a year, following the closure of the FilmFour production business last year.

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