Ofcom has appointed advisers LEK to undertake the review, which will determine whether Channel 4 needs assistance to fulfil its remit. The review of Channel 4's delivery of public service broadcasting remit will be undertaken by Ofcom itself. It will look at how Channel 4 defines the remit and its implementation.
The appointment of LEK comes two weeks after Charles Allen, the outgoing ITV chief executive, took a swipe at Channel 4, accusing it of failing to meet its public service remit with its line-up of "quiz show, gameshow, chatshow, soap".
"When exactly did remit become a four-letter word at Channel 4?" Allen asked in his MacTaggart Lecture in Edinburgh.
If the financial review determines financial challenges for Channel 4, another second phase will look at how these problems can be addressed.
Channel 4 is in the difficult position of arguing that it needs cash from the government to fund the shift to digital, while at the same time ad revenues and profits at its channels rise.
In April, it revealed that ad and sponsorship revenue for 2005 was up 5% to 拢729.3m and that pre-tax profits had risen by 4.9% to 拢66.8m.
At the same time, chief executive Andy Duncan pointed out in its annual report that it was the only public service broadcaster with no settlement to "accommodate the realities of a post-analogue world".
Ofcom said it would publish the results of LEK's report.
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