Channel 4 to unveil deeper job cuts as advert downturn bites

Channel 4 will announce plans this week for deeper-than-expected job cuts amid a steep downturn within the broadcast promoting market.

Sky News has learnt that the state-owned broadcaster will say on Monday that it’s slicing almost 250 roles, a determine equating to simply over 15% of its full-time workforce of greater than 1,300 individuals.

Industry sources mentioned this weekend that whereas the variety of individuals being made redundant can be roughly 200, consistent with earlier reviews of the cost-cutting, near an extra 50 roles have been additionally being axed by chief govt Alex Mahon.

It is predicted to be the largest bloodletting within the historical past of Channel 4, which launched in 1982 and which got here near being privatised final yr.

Ministers ultimately decided against selling the company regardless of having employed bankers from JP Morgan to supervise an public sale.

This week’s job cuts will have an effect on a variety of departments on the Gogglebox and Great British Bake-Off producer.

Ms Mahon has described the advert market’s decline as “market shock territory” for the corporate.

A Channel 4 spokesperson mentioned it was “a wholly commercially funded and self-reliant broadcaster known for producing iconoclastic programmes and generating enormous value for the UK creative economy”.

“Like each organisation, we’re having to cope with a particularly unsure financial system within the quick time period and the necessity to speed up our transformation to turn out to be an entirely digital public service broadcaster in the long run.

“As a result, we need to continue to divest from our linear channels business and simplify our operations to become a leaner organisation.”