12-05-2025
Matt Risley Exiting Channel 4 After Five Years Running 4Studio
EXCLUSIVE: Matt Risley, Channel 4's YouTube supremo who founded and runs the broadcaster's 4Studio agency, is exiting after more than five years.
Risley made the announcement on LinkedIn earlier today. He said it has been the 'professional privilege of my career to launch, scale and nurture a department that has become integral to the business' future.' Channel 4 confirmed his departure but declined to comment on succession plans.
More from Deadline
Legacy Media? UK Pubcasters Balk At Outdated Term & Say "We've Got To Be Phoenixes Rising From The Ashes"
Alex Mahon Writing Debut Novel 'The Rich Bitch Club' & Pitching To TV Producers After Ending Stint As Channel 4's Highest-Paid CEO
International Insider: AI - Friend Or Foe?; Guard Change At Channel 4; Canneseries Report
Based in Leeds, 4Studio creates social content for Channel 4 across platforms and strikes commercial deals. The studio has been talked up by departing CEO Alex Mahon in recent years, who has placed digital front and center of Channel 4's strategy. The network recently had its first YouTube show, Tapped out Prank Stars, piloted on linear, while Risley steered its first-of-a-kind move to make popular soap Hollyoaks available on YouTube and helped launch numerous other channels.
Risley listed his achievements as 'establishing Channel 4 as the leader in broadcaster-led social and YouTube strategy,' 'helping to create dozens of job opportunities with the vast majority based outside of London' and 'scaling global social audiences in their billions.'
A Channel 4 spokesman said: 'Matt has been an integral figure in the launch and growth of 4Studio. He has led the development of 4Studio into a social powerhouse, generating new revenue streams, collaborating with teams across the business to drive billions of social views to Channel 4 content annually, and creating dozens of roles that have introduced the next generation of digital talent into the business and industry – the vast majority of which are based in our Leeds National HQ.'
Risley's exit comes just a few days after he appeared on a Creative Cities Convention panel alongside YouTube UK boss Alison Lomax, who discussed the barriers breaking down between traditional TV and YouTube. His departure comes two weeks after Mahon revealed she was exiting the network she has run for eight years.
Best of Deadline
2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
All The Songs In Netflix's 'Forever': From Tyler The Creator To SZA
