Channel 4 bosses decline pay rise as employees battle cost-of-living disaster
C
hannel 4 boss Alex Mahon stated the broadcaster’s high executives declined a pay rise and deferred their bonuses to remain “in line” with employees who’re battling the cost-of-living disaster amid a “tough downturn” within the promoting marketplace for the channel.
The broadcaster’s annual report revealed on Wednesday stated 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 stated the downturn was a results of “fairly extreme economic conditions largely down to the outbreak of war in Ukraine”, including: “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 government 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 stated: “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 stated following the yr finish government employees declined a 50% cost, as a substitute choosing a deferred cost of 25%.
Ms Mahon stated: “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 largest hits of the yr on any platform, chief content material officer Ian Katz stated.
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 reviews that Rescue: Extreme Medics and SAS: Who Dares Wins have been among the many programmes that weren’t recommissioned.
She stated: “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 can be down round 6% on the finish of the yr, was as a result of inflation was “more persistent than forecasted” compounding the cost-of-living disaster for the UK viewer.
In June, Mr Katz wrote a letter to suppliers confirming the broadcaster can be commissioning “relatively little over the summer months” exterior of digital and present affairs.
On Wednesday, he stated: “In September, we will brief fully on what we’re looking for as we go into 2024 and beyond.”
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 basic election.
The report stated: “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 go the “imperative” draft media invoice with “great haste”.
He stated: “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 legislation isn’t handed the long-term sustainability of all public service broadcasting within the UK is “unavoidably endangered”.
She stated: “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.”