Channel 4 Leeds: One year on from 'moment of history' when the news was broadcast from its new home in city

A year ago this week, Channel 4 News broadcast live from Leeds for the first time. Since 2018, the channel has moved 400 roles out of London and based them in cities such as Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester.

Presenter Cathy Newman read the news covering "Leeds to Lviv" from its Leeds studio for the first time on the evening of March 22, 2022. Ahead of the programme, she tweeted: "A moment of @Channel4News history: I’m live in our new Leeds home tonight. Tune in at 7 - from Leeds to Lviv we’ve got it covered."

The Channel 4 News studio is located in Brewery Wharf, a mixed-use development on the bank of the River Aire. The organisation moved its HQ to Leeds in 2020 and now has hundreds of members of staff working from the former Majestic building near Leeds Station.

Steph's Packed Lunch is also broadcast from Leeds Dock on a daily basis, part of the channel’s pledge to have 50 per cent of its commissioning spend outside of the capital by this year.

Rents for prime commercial property in Leeds city centre now look set to break all records this year thanks to the impact of the Channel 4 move, according to a report by global property consultancy Knight Frank. The company’s partner and head of development said last month that the move had a “very significant knock-on effect” and built on the city’s reputation of “being a magnet for bright young tech, media and creative companies”.

Earlier this year, the Government scrapped controversial plans to privatise Channel 4 after significant backlash. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the decision was made following discussions with Channel 4 and the independent production sector and an “ambitious package of measures” would serve as an alternative to the sale.

Channel 4, which was founded by Margaret Thatcher’s Government in 1982 and is now entirely funded by advertising, had resisted the privatisation and last year it published a counter-proposal that would allow it to remain under public ownership.The broadcaster also generated record revenue of £1.2bn in 2021 – with a £100m surplus.