Channel 4 has appointed Art Sejdiu as Head of Commissioning Development. Sejdiu’s enhanced role will see him take on responsibility for overseeing the development of major unscripted projects, working closely in collaboration with genre HoDs, commissioners and the indies pitching them. He will also be tasked with identifying new opportunities for development across the slate.
Sejdiu will retain some of his current responsibilities as Channel Executive, working across the full Channel 4 commissioning slate to provide strategic and creative support to Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz and Director of Streaming and Content Strategy, Kiran Nataraja. This includes leading on the Contestable Fund process, which recently saw the commission of Mettlemouse’s The Honesty Box and is now open again for submissions.
With a comprehensive understanding of editorial priorities, the programming portfolio, and audience insights, Art will work alongside commissioning genre HoDs and commissioners to ensure that all major developments help to drive the Fast Forward strategy and transition Channel 4 to become a public service streamer. In his expanded role, Sejdiu will continue to oversee relationships with key external stakeholders whilst working to identify new opportunities for development to support Channel 4’s creative and commercial goals.
Prior to Channel 4 Sejdiu spent five years in the development team at RDF. He is a former Edinburgh TV Fest Ones To Watch (2020), former Broadcast Hot Shot (2023) and was named an unsung hero in the 2023 Broadcast Commissioner Survey. Art will take up his new role in November 2024.
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, praised the exec: “Art is one of the sharpest creative brains in the business and after three years working at the heart of the channel has brilliant instincts for what will work on our platforms. In a world of fewer but bigger launches, Art will work with commissioners and indies to make sure our major developments fit our content strategy and have been thoroughly informed by audience insight.
Finally, Art Sejdiu showed enthusiasm for the upcoming major projects, “I'm so excited to get stuck into this new gig, working closely with our commissioning teams and the brilliant indies across the UK to help generate and shape some of the channel's biggest new projects.”