[Granadarama]

This will cause confusion to those who currently use All 4 - they may think they're watching a TV channel rather than a streaming service. If it was renamed Channel 4 Player or even 4 Play, then there will be no confusion and people will know where to watch their favourite shows if they missed the original broadcast.

I don’t agree. The main Channel 4 website is already dedicated to All4, and the entire purpose of Channel 4 is to broadcast programmes produced elsewhere (among other things). Branding the VoD and TV channels with the same name makes sense as they provide the same service, just by different means.

I approve of this move because it simplifies the branding by turning the VoD service into the flagship brand. Since the rise of multichannel television, the television companies have been obsessed with building multiple brands for various imagined demographics, to the detriment of the master brand. This was understandable when quantity was the driving force behind broadcasting - more choice means a fractured audience who might tune into the other guy’s channel - but makes no sense online where content is already easily categorised into genres.

Making TV brands an integral part of a VoD service makes no sense while trying to market it as it’s own thing - seriously, if you don’t watch linear TV, as is the case with many younger people, what on Earth does the BBC Two section of iPlayer mean compared to BBC One? When BBC Three went “online only”, how was it any different to just having a youth category with a neon colour scheme?

Channel 4 used to be “just a channel”, ITV used to be “just a channel”, so I really believe it would benefit them all to just focus on that and let the sub-brands languish on linear TV. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have all had rebrands that put their master brands front and centre, so I expect more of this style of reorganising to take place. ITVX may well be along the same lines.

Plus most importantly maybe now trailers can drop the whole “on Channel 4 and All4”, “on ITV and ITV Hub” thing they love so much (come on, we JUST got past “on BBC One and BBC One HD”).

PS: Hello, long time listener, first time caller!