A visit from 4Studio’s Matt Risley

It’s been a strong start to the year at The Up Group! Matt Risley, Managing Director of 4Studio at Channel 4, who was placed by our very James Burrows, hosted this month’s Up masterclass. He discussed digital innovation, engaging with young audiences and ultimately, the importance of creativity. 

Matt was brought in by Channel 4 to build out the company’s digital offering across social and to diversify revenue streams for the organisation – a division which has now become the company’s fastest growing part of the business; however, and as he explained, it’s been much more than trying to monetise and commercialise 4Studio…  

Matt explained that the underlying problem with legacy media is the inability to connect with young audiences in the right way. ‘The truth is that young audiences consume content differently’ - to tackle this 4Studio was set up with three strategic pillars in mind: meeting the audience where they are and collecting robust audience data (marketing), diversifying content to engage digital audiences (creative) and diversifying revenue streams (commercial). Channel 4 initially had a ‘frenemy’ like relationship with social media platforms, but it was essential to build strong relationships with these platforms to reach diverse audiences. Thus began Channel 4’s digital transformation. After building these relationships, he knew it was time to build an in-house digital content creation team to partner creativity with the commercial strategy. This now consists of original long-form content put on platforms like YouTube and Snap, compilations in short-form across social media platforms such as TikTok and even spin-offs of various Channel 4 series.

“4Studio works to make sure Channel 4 can be experienced in all forms and avenues.”

Matt spoke of the early days at 4Studio feeling ‘like a start-up’, which soon became the fastest growing team throughout Channel 4 and are the only segment within Channel 4 to reach a global audience! They’ve generated over 30-billion views in under three years and were even nominated for Channel 4's first ever digital BAFTA. It is refreshing to see just how successful digital transformation of legacy media can be and this will surely inspire continuous digital transformation. It is clear that their huge commercial success is tied hand-in-hand with their flexible strategy, to experiment with the types of content they’re creating.

“Channel 4 is investing in future digital sustainability and finding out what the people actually want.”

 The unpredictability of social media is seen as a science, for which 4Studio have created a data house to inform their digital decisions of what will gain traction. Matt shares that without data to inform decisions, a lot of media companies are missing out. Funnily enough, Channel 4 missed out on gaining new viewers by cancelling Tattoo Fixers. If they had initially made decisions through audience data, they would have realised that it was gaining a lot of traction on Snapchat! Data also shows that Gen Z enjoy having difficult conversations and content should be relatable to their values. Whether it’s which show should get another season or what type of long-form content is reaching a wider audience, the data shows it all. For this reason, they are miles ahead of others purely because of their digital innovation and use of data to drive their commercial decisions.  

Coming from a more commercially-focused background at Sky and Viacom, Matt is amazed at how dedicated 4Studio are to investing in the next generation of talent in the creative industry. During the masterclass, Matt reminisces on Channel 4’s heritage, which was originally set up to diversify media and be representative of unheard audiences. They continue this legacy, by funding and fueling independent creators to now hiring young in-house talent to train, develop and nurture the next generation of talent. They are continuing to build on Channel 4's legacy of reaching young audiences by building a brand affinity with Gen Z in the spaces where they're spending their time. They have made an effort to create a media space away from London where people from all over the country are able to have a chance. Their nationwide 4Skills programme is just further evidence of wanting to reach diverse backgrounds and really generate internal culture, teams and content that emphasise the importance of DE&I.

 “Really unique, really weird and really complex - it's brilliant and a lot to juggle.”

 We look forward to keeping in touch with Matt, and watching how 4Studio continues to innovate and led the charge on cutting-edge solutions within the media landscape.