Channel 4 and UK regional media development agencies will start a £50 million digital commissioning fund as the broadcaster looks to retain its publicly-funded status whilst enduring tough economic times. The “Next On 4” blueprint it unveiled this week was largely a restating of existing goals, but the “4 Innovation for the Public” (4IP) fund will see a new senior executive report to new media director Jon Gisby to work on digital multimedia productions. Just £20 million comes from C4, the rest from partnerships with regional media funds. C4 also said it wanted to syndicate content to sites like Bebo and MySpace.

SEE ALSO: C4’s Digital Future: A Stake In BBC? Govt. Partnerships? Fill In The Blanks…

C4 has warned for a couple of years it’s facing a £100 million shortfall thanks to its digital investments and falling ad sales, so is desperately looking for support, including a slice of the BBC licence fee. Partnering with existing media development agencies seems to be a way to offset costs and could be a good opportunity for regional independent producers not already making content for C4.

On a related note—Some outlets are reporting Ofcom CEO Ed Richards said in his Wednesday speech the regulator will “scrap” plans for a taxpayer-funded public-service publisher (PSP) for web content. In fact, his speech (transcript here) never referred to killing off the idea, which was mooted in 2004 and is part of Ofcom’s ongoing second review in to public service broadcasting in its entirety that isn’t due to complete until late this year or early next. Ofcom told me: “The point that Ed was making was that PSP has served its purpose in stimulating this debate, and we’re now getting into the nitty gritty of how we best take advantage of the opportunities of interactive media in delivering public purposes.”