Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham announced this week that he plans to invest more money than ever before in the UK independent production sector – pledging £450m of C4”s programmes budget to original UK content in 2012.

Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention he said: “This means that, since I joined Channel 4, we will have increased the annual level of investment in the British creative economy by £80m – and across a wide spread of companies, both large and small, and throughout the UK. It means jobs for British companies, especially the critical SMEs. And it means the creation of IP, which indies can use to generate export revenue, further boosting the UK economy.”

Abraham told the audience that since joining Channel 4 in May 2010, his ambition has been to increase spend on UK original content. He also pointed to strong performances in areas like audience share and ad sales: “(Our) strategy builds on what Channel 4 has always been about – supporting our investment in UK content and delivering our remit. It will also enable us to grow ratings and viewer engagement, and pump the revenue benefits back into content – and back into the UK creative industries. So, while the outlook for 2012 may be uncertain, I enter this year with a sense of optimism that C4 is in the midst of one of the most inspiring and creatively stimulating periods in its history.”