Channel 4 bosses decline pay rise as workers battle cost-of-living disaster
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hannel 4 boss Alex Mahon mentioned the broadcaster’s prime executives declined a pay rise and deferred their bonuses to remain “in line” with workers who’re battling the cost-of-living disaster amid a “tough downturn” within the promoting marketplace for the channel.
The broadcaster’s annual report printed on Wednesday mentioned it needed to “significantly” tighten the reins for the second half of 2022 following a decline within the TV promoting market which it depends on to generate cash to fee reveals.
Chief working officer Jonathan Allan mentioned: “As many other businesses are having to do this year, we have unfortunately had to pull a few levers.”
At a press briefing on Wednesday, Channel 4 chief govt Ms Mahon confirmed the highest executives on the channel had additionally “declined to take a pay rise this year” and had “deferred indefinitely taking a retention bonus”.
She later mentioned: “I don’t doubt that it’s difficult for people, especially now with cost of living and inflation pressures, which is why we’ve tried to err on the side of making decisions for the lowest paid staff in the organisation in terms of pay rises where the bulk of staff goes there, because I don’t think it’s easy to live in the UK this year if you’re at the lower paid end.”
The report mentioned following the 12 months finish govt workers declined a 50% cost, as an alternative choosing a deferred cost of 25%.
Ms Mahon mentioned: “We declined the 50% that was awarded because we felt we should be more in line with rest of staff, and when that payment was due to be made we were in trickier advertising waters…so deferred taking it and we haven’t set a date for whether we do or don’t take it.”
The broadcaster’s annual report confirmed income was down 2% in 2022 however a “record amount” was spent on content material at £713 million, with Married At First Sight Australia one of many greatest hits of the 12 months on any platform, chief content material officer Ian Katz mentioned.
Ms Mahon additionally addressed the reshuffling of the channel’s schedule following the downturn within the advert market, confirming the channel did should “cancel a handful of shows” with earlier studies that Rescue: Extreme Medics and SAS: Who Dares Wins had been among the many programmes that weren’t recommissioned.
She mentioned: “We spotted that there were clouds on the horizon with the ad market, we took quite decisive action. We did cancel a handful of shows, which is obviously difficult for the companies involved.”
“Of all the shows we do in a year, about half of them return,” she added.
The briefing heard the advert downturn, which the channel forecasts shall be down round 6% on the finish of the 12 months, was as a result of inflation was “more persistent than forecasted” compounding the cost-of-living disaster for the UK viewer.
Channel 4 is anticipating 2024 to be “more stable” with promoting demand buoyed by a US presidential election, Paralympic and Olympic Games in Paris, the soccer European Championships and a forthcoming UK common election.
The report mentioned: “Channel 4 remains on the hunt for brilliant creative ideas and new content opportunities.”
Chairman Sir Ian Cheshire additionally referred to as on the Government to move the “imperative” draft media invoice with “great haste”.
He mentioned: “Prominence simply can’t come quickly enough, if we value Britain’s unmatched public service media, there is no time to lose.”
Meanwhile, Ms Mahon warned that if the regulation isn’t handed the long-term sustainability of all public service broadcasting within the UK is “unavoidably endangered”.
She mentioned: “We do believe the media law is urgently needed, we need that to become law in order to make sure that Britain’s public service media is findable, particularly for young people, and it is prominent in their lives.
“Ultimately it is the media who mirrors who we are as a population and determines our national sense of cohesion and unity.”