Popular UK provider of television programs Channel 4 has removed all full episodes of its shows from its YouTube channel and will not be adding any more in the future.

Viewers are alerted to the change with a notification message if they try to watch full episodes of Channel 4 shows—as well as those from More 4 and E4—on YouTube. They will now be redirected to 4oD if they want to watch full episodes of shows such as the Inbetweeners, Peep Show, Misfits, and Skins.

"As a not-for-profit broadcaster funded by advertising, we put our money back into the programmes themselves," the broadcaster writes. "To make the best of this investment, we've decided to focus on bringing online viewers of our full-length shows to our own 4oD apps—such as those on iOS, Android and channel4.com. These apps also allow us to encourage more viewing by recommending programmes we think people will appreciate, and to provide viewers with additional services."

Channel 4 is keen to let you know that it isn't abandoning YouTube altogether, though. Its primary and E4 channels on the platform will remain up and running, offering viewers the opportunity to watch previews and other clips, in the same way the BBC and ITV do already.

The move marks a partial end to a deal that was struck in 2009 between YouTube and the broadcaster. Since that time, TV catch-up services have changed dramatically and become markedly more sophisticated and widespread. At the time, what YouTube and Channel 4 were offering viewers was unique, but now Channel 4 has such a huge following on its own catch-up platform it makes little sense for the broadcaster to continue the partnership, in which YouTube took a share of advertising revenue.

Channel 4 has always been a pioneer in terms of online video content, being the first broadcaster to launch an on-demand service, as well as the first to sell ads against online content—but it's time for it to update its business model in line with advances in technology and telly-watching trends.

YouTube seems to come off worse here, as it will clearly lose out on advertising revenue, although it's hard to know how many people are still watching Channel 4 shows on YouTube these days, now that the 4oD app is widely available and widely known about. Similarly, YouTube is not known primarily as a provider of long-form content, and the short-form content Channel 4 will continue to put on its channels now is more in-keeping with the other content YouTube generally offers and is best known for. We contacted YouTube for its perspective on the matter, but a spokesperson declined to comment.