The Tewkesbury-based company has printed 3m copies of Channel 4 Christmas. Pre-press was  by Electronic Solutions. The broadcaster is believed to have invested 1m in the 64pp publication, which is published by Emap's nascent customer publishing arm, Emap East.

The free one-off magazine was distributed in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the Evening Standard, plus consumer magazines like Heat and trade titles. Channel 4 Christmas is also being handed out at railway stations from Brighton to Glasgow and at retail outlets such as HMV.

The magazine emphasises the alternative festive programming offered by Channel 4, which  will include a new series of council estate comedy drama Shameless and American comedy Desperate Housewives.

Story by Adam Hill