Advanced Television

Channel 4 launches Un-algorithmy algorithm

December 23, 2024

By Colin Mann

Channel 4 is giving streamers a new way to watch over Christmas and into 2025. The ‘Un-algorithmy algorithm’ sees the UK commercial PSB launch a dedicated section on its streaming app and website where viewers can access recommendations and content collections created solely by humans for humans.

Unlinked from Channel 4’s algorithm and recommendation engines, the Un-algorithmy algorithm will generate collections collated unconventionally, unexpectedly and unmistakably in what Channel 4 describes as its “unique tone of voice”.

Some of the many new human-curated collections available from launch on December 27th)include: Meltdowns (The Snowman, Married At First Sight), Pilot Episodes (Top Guns: Inside the RAF, Royal Flying Doctors), A Load of Rubbish (Rubbish Tip Britain: Dispatches, Scrapheap Challenge), Shows That Suck (Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners) and Coming Soon (Sex Toy Secrets, The Super Orgasm).

According to Channel 4, the Un-algorithmy algorithm will become a place to discover something new to watch, quickly and effortlessly; a site that is un-linked from viewers’ viewing history, with surprising suggestions of what to watch next.

“The Un-algorithmy algorithm is another Altogether Different way of watching Channel 4,” commented Landy Slattery, creative innovation director, 4creative, Channel 4’s in-house agency. “The Un-algorithmy algorithm is unashamedly unhinged compared to all the usual streaming experiences. We’ve created a new place for collections, unattached to our current curations and recommendations, where streamers can discover our content in all kinds of new, unbelievable, and unexpected ways. In fact, brand spirit is something we believe will be embraced more on future streaming platforms.”

The Un-algorithmy algorithm is the latest innovation on Channel 4’s streaming platform, following its UK-first launch on Apple’s Vision Pro device in November 2024, which blends digital content with the physical world, enabling viewers to experience Channel 4 programming like never before.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Catch Up, Middleware, OTT, Search/Recommendation, VOD

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