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LONDON -- British web Channel 4 is turning underperforming movie subscription service FilmFour into a free-to-air venture that will be available on digital terrestrial platform Freeview.

C4 recently outbid rival Five for the Freeview space, paying a reported £12 million ($20 million) a year.

Launched in 1998 as the broadcaster's first digital weblet, FilmFour has fewer than 500,000 subscribers, although C4 says it makes a profit.

C4 hopes a free-to-air FilmFour will generate more advertising coin. The move paid off for C4 digital web E4, which opened on Freeview earlier this year. More eyeballs for the service is translating into more ad revenue.

It is unclear when FilmFour will make the transition, but having enough free movie rights isn't a problem.

C4 has been stockpiling free rights under the cover of buying pics for its other free channels, including E4 and the recently launched More4.

More problematic is renegotiating its FilmFour carriage deal with satcaster BSkyB.

The paybox, whose subscription film channels are key revenue earners, is unlikely to take kindly to the launch of one more free film web in the highly competitive market.

A C4 spokesman declined to comment on FilmFour going free.