On Tuesday 2 November 1982, a new dawn broke for British television with the arrival of Channel 4. Unlike BBC One, BBC Two and ITV, it broke the mould by commissioning its programmes from independent producers rather than making them itself, paving the way for the future of television as we know it today in a multichannel age. It also had a remit to broadcast an “alternative” to the existing channels.
Viewers were greeted by the sight of nine flying blocks in five colours forming themselves into a logo to make the figure 4, accompanied by David Dundas’s Fourscore theme tune, before Paul Coia, the out-of-vision announcer, said: “Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be able to say to you, welcome to Channel 4.”
