Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 have announced a five-year partnership on the fundraising sub-brand Stand Up To Cancer, which in its inaugural year raised £8m centred around a telethon.

Stand Up To Cancer will not return to television screens this year, but CRUK and the television station have agreed that it will make an airing in 2014. Stand Up To Cancer originated in the US, where a national cancer charity has raised hundreds of millions through telethons, but was brought to the UK last year by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, in what CRUK's director of fundraising Richard Turner described as the first new telethon in decades.

While the charity is yet to announce the full gamut of its fundraising activity for 2013, in the absence of any telethon, a spokeswoman for CRUK told civilsociety.co.uk that there will be a variety of ways for individuals to engage.

In addition to physical events and “experiential activities”, she said, Stand Up To Cancer will encourage people to do their own fundraising. Merchandising also proved a strong income stream last year, and the charity is expecting that this will continue to generate returns.

While raising money for CRUK, Stand Up To Cancer is distinct from the megalith brand and specifically raises money to speed up the process of bringing effective cancer treatments to market. With a different message and distinct brand identity and tone, the spokeswoman said it appeals to a different audience to typical Cancer Research UK supporters.

Launching the new partnership on Tuesday this week, Channel 4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt said: “Last year’s launch of Stand Up To Cancer in the UK exceeded all expectations and showed that we could harness the power of 4 behind a major event that raised millions. Our new five-year partnership with Cancer Research UK is a terrific opportunity to build on that success and raise even more for a great cause.”