“We nurture where streamers don’t”: This is what Channel 4 boss Lousia Compton had to say about Netflix over the hit Adolescence 

At the opening debate at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the news executive of Channel 4, Louisa Compton, instigated controversy by discussing how global streamer Netflix had dealt with the blockbuster series Adolescence. She claimed that large platforms often jump in when the local creators have already done most of the work: an argument that made headlines almost immediately.

She said:

“We’ve developed and nurtured the talent that has allowed Netflix to come in as TV tourists and effectively commission [Adolescence],”

Her comment was not about disparaging good shows, but asking much greater questions: who takes the credit, who makes the money, and who provides long-term support when a local show goes global?

What Louisa Compton said

The pitch by Channel 4’s Louisa Compton is straightforward: in contrast to streamers aiming only at immediate success, public service broadcasters operate with long-term objectives. Public-service broadcasters invest money, time, and structure into nurturing talent. They have assisted writers in their growth, trained directors, and also provided actors with their first big break.

This mission is reinforced by the reporting and public accounts of Channel 4, which emphasize the funding of smaller indies, investing around the country, and bringing risks to programming that do not need to go viral immediately but will make the industry stronger in the long run.

Compton said:

“We’ve developed and nurtured the talent that has allowed Netflix to come in as TV tourists and effectively commission [Adolescence]....Without us that wouldn’t have happened. We nurture where the streamers don’t…Where are the investigations on the streamers into Gaza or Trump? There’s no current affairs on the streamers. Everything is retrospective. [Current affairs] is a unique thing PSBs offer.”

The Netflix effect

Netflix's release of Adolescence in March 2025 turned it into a worldwide discussion almost overnight. In the first four days, Adolescence garnered over 24.3 million views. It soon reached the number one position among the Top 10 on Netflix worldwide and the top on UK television ratings.

Adolescence was a massive success, facilitating debates in classrooms and newsrooms. It made the issues of cultural responsibility and creative support feel more urgent. However, the tension between nurture vs scale, culture vs commerce made the jibe by Compton sound less like an empty insult and more like an invitation to reconsider how success is distributed in the industry.

A shared victory

Trending

When a series of such magnitude as Adolescence goes viral, it becomes easy to declare the platform that propelled it as the reason behind its success. But whose success is it, the farmer who planted the seeds or the supermarket that sold the fruit? Compton says at least it should be a collective success, and not a victory parade of one brand. Compton’s comments are an endeavour to get audiences interested in the supply chain because otherwise our Friday night queues won't look quite as interesting.

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