Channel 4 Braces For Job Cuts As Advertising Revenue Drops
Channel 4 is planning a round of job cuts as the broadcaster sharpens its focus on streaming services amid a downturn in TV advertising. The company has told staff to prepare for jobs to be impacted as it looks to tighten budgets this year. (Press Association via AP Images)
Channel 4 Chief Executive Alex Mahon confirmed to staff that a significant number of job cuts are imminent as news emerged the broadcaster is hit by the worst TV advertising downturn in 15 years.
The news, first broken by The Guardian, indicates most job losses will likely affect London-based workers as the broadcaster seeks to speed up its transition to streaming services
Mahon, in an internal email, stated that Channel 4 needs to “accelerate” its transformation into a “genuinely digital-first public service broadcaster” in light of the advertising crisis – the most severe since the 2008.
“Given all the market change and complexity that we need to adapt to, there will be an impact on jobs at Channel 4,” Mahon wrote.
He continued: “What we are doing now is accelerating our existing plans to weather the sharp and protracted advertising slowdown that has hit the whole industry. We have been working carefully to minimise the impact on individuals.”
The broadcaster is strategising to minimise the impact on individuals while weathering what Mahon said was a “sharp and protracted advertising slowdown.”
Channel 4, which plans to announce its future plans later this month, had previously reduced its workforce by almost a quarter during the 2008 crisis.
Currently, a quarter of Channel 4’s £1.14bn revenue comes from digital advertising on its streaming service.
“The market is shifting fast, and, as we have always done, Channel 4 has to move fast to adapt and imagine our future for a world that will continue to change,” Mahon said.
The broadcaster’s programming commissioning and operations teams are expected to face the brunt of the job cuts. Channel 4’s latest annual report shows a full-time equivalent workforce of 1,197 employees, a number that has grown since the report.
In a revelation last November, Mahon told the Commons culture committee that the TV ad market’s state was in “shock territory”, with the broadcaster expecting losses in the next two years following three years of surpluses.
