BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 have reached agreement on the areas where the two could collaborate in an on-screen joint venture, the BBC has confirmed. Timesonline reports that the pair have decided on setting up a JV called 4 Worldwide that would house C4’s digital channels E4, More4 and Film4 as well as its online activities and commercial operations, while Channel 4 retains control of its flagship terrestrial channel. A BBCWW spokeswoman today said it was"speculation” to say both sides had agreed on the shape and function of a JV but told us: “Talks that started last year are moving forward at a good pace and have come to some sensible conclusions about where collaboration could take place.”

BBCWW CEO John Smith wrote in The Sunday Times this week that the company could could play a role in securing C4’s future: “We have been working on proposals (subject to BBC Trust scrutiny and approval) that are imaginative and, set alongside the BBC’s own proposals, like sharing the iPlayer, represent genuine business logic.” The spokeswoman pointed out that if C4 really is facing a funding shortfall of £100 million by 2012, BBCWW would not be able to solve that problem entirely. Channel 4 has yet to answer our questions today. More after the jump…

Tacit agreement appears to have been reached for the JV’s on-screen collaborations, but there remain sticking points: Smith said he was willing to contribute “non-BBC branded UK television businesses”, which could mean BBCWW’s 50 percent stake in UKTV and its DVD distribution business 2 Entertain—but the involvement of Worldwide’s profitable magazine division remains in doubt, particularly as C4 has no equivalent business to offer in return. The BBC spokeswoman said it was still possible that a deal could be struck relating to TV, DVDs and magazines but TV is the main focus.

Lord Carter has set a deadline of March 12 for a preliminary agreement on a C4/BBCWW JV as part of his long-running Digital Britain review, and the BBC hopes to report “good progress” to him then. Though just in case anyone was expecting a swift deal, the Beeb is also keen to stress that negotiations on the larger and finer details of a JV of this size could take a long time…

• C4 Said To Be Discussing BBCWW JV To Solve Funding Crisis