C4 confirms Freeview channel plans

Channel 4 will be launching a new digital channel on Freeview by the end of next year, the broadcaster has confirmed.

Mark Thompson, the network CEO, said that plans for the station were still "in the early stages" but hinted that it could be a factual-based channel showing programmes such as Faking It and Equinox, or merely a one-hour timeshifted version of C4 to begin with.

"We are looking at all our options," he said, adding that he expects the number of Freeview homes to increase by one million over each of the next few years.

Rumours of the new station, nicknamed 'G4', first surfaced in November last year, although until today the launch has not been officially confirmed.