Commercial Deal with Sky

The request was refused by Channel Four Television Corporation.

Dear Channel Four Television Corporation,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I am making the following request of information.

1. What is the total agreed cost paid to Sky as part of the "long-term deal" that provides the rights for broadcasting Formula 1 highlights (and live British Grand Prix) for the 2021 season?

2. (same as above) for the 2022 season?

3. If either of these single figures are unavailable, then I request the total cost for Channel 4 (paid to Sky) to enable the entire deal with Sky from its commencement, to date.

Yours faithfully,

Bartholomew Hall

# FOI Admin, Channel Four Television Corporation

Our Ref: FOI/2021/77

 

Dear Bartholomew Hall,

 

Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), which we received on 15^th November
2021. Your request was set out as follows:

 

“Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I am making the following
request of information.

 

1. What is the total agreed cost paid to Sky as part of the "long-term
deal" that provides the rights for broadcasting Formula 1 highlights (and
live British Grand Prix) for the 2021 season?

 

2. (same as above) for the 2022 season?

 

3. If either of these single figures are unavailable, then I request the
total cost for Channel 4 (paid to Sky) to enable the entire deal with Sky
from its commencement, to date.”

 

We are dealing with your request under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and we will reply to you within 20 working days of
our receipt of your request. In some circumstances a fee may be payable
and if that is the case, we will let you know the likely charges before
proceeding.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

FOI Admin Team

 

Channel 4

[1][Channel 4 request email]

 

[2]www.channel4.com

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Channel 4 request email]
2. http://www.channel4.com/

# FOI Admin, Channel Four Television Corporation

Our Ref: FOI/2021/77

 

Dear Bartholomew Hall,

 

Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), which we received on 15th November 2021.
Your request was set out as follows:

 

“Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I am making the following
request of information.

 

1. What is the total agreed cost paid to Sky as part of the "long-term
deal" that provides the rights for broadcasting Formula 1 highlights (and
live British Grand Prix) for the 2021 season?

 

2. (same as above) for the 2022 season?

 

3. If either of these single figures are unavailable, then I request the
total cost for Channel 4 (paid to Sky) to enable the entire deal with Sky
from its commencement, to date.”

 

As regards your request, please note that the information you have
requested relates to editorial decision making, specifically in this case
decisions around the proportion of resources allocated to acquire Formula
1 rights from Sky. As such, the information you have requested is
information about Channel 4’s creative output.   

 

Accordingly, as you may be aware, the Act gives the public a right of
access to certain types of recorded information held by public
authorities. However, it also sets out various exemptions from that right
where, for example, the information is commercially sensitive or
confidential. Further, the Act does not apply to Channel 4 in the same way
as most other public authorities because Channel 4 is not required to make
available information held for purposes of journalism, art or literature
(known as the “designation”). This means that the Act does not apply to
information concerning, relating to, or closely associated with Channel
4’s output (e.g. TV, film, online etc).

 

For more information about how the Act applies to Channel 4, you may find
it helpful to visit our Freedom of Information website at
[1]http://www.channel4.com/info/corporate/l....

 

For the avoidance of doubt, information related to our output is covered
by the “designation” (set out in Schedule I, Part VI of the Act) and we
are not required to disclose such information to the public. Therefore, we
are not obliged under the Act to provide you with the requested
information.

 

In any event, even were the information to fall within the scope of the
Act, we would consider this information to be highly commercially
sensitive. Accordingly, we would not be obliged to disclose it in
accordance with section 43(2) of the Act.

 

Channel 4 is a publicly owned but commercially funded public service
broadcaster, the vast majority of our income is derived from the sale of
advertising. We compete with rival broadcasters to secure the rights to
show specific sports. Were we to disclose detailed information about our
agreement with Sky, it is likely that our, for the most part privately
owned rivals who have no equivalent obligation to make such information
publicly available, could utilise such information to undercut Channel 4
in future bidding processes. In turn, this would have significant
consequences for Channel 4’s ability to generate revenue and maintain our
not-for-profit status, free from public subsidy. We note this for the sake
of completeness, but have not gone on to consider the exemption for
commercially sensitive information in any further detail, given your
request falls outside the scope of the Act.

 

Many thanks for your interest in Channel 4.

 

Channel 4 does not offer internal reviews for requests handled outside the
scope of the Act. However, you can apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted
at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

FOI Admin Team

 

Channel 4

[2][Channel 4 request email]

 

[3]www.channel4.com

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.channel4.com/info/corporate/l...
2. mailto:[Channel 4 request email]
3. http://www.channel4.com/