Advanced Television

Alex Mahon

Channel 4 reports “resilient performance”; Ofcom approval

Channel 4 has published its annual report for 2023 – later in the year than usual due to the General Election – and provided in-year update on 2024 progress. Performance highlights include:  2023 revenues stood at £1.02 billion, topping £1 billion for the third consecutive year, representing a resilient performance in a year of significant […]

October 8, 2024

Channel 4 Paralympics watched by 20m

Channel 4 has reported that its coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games reached 20 million viewers across linear and streaming – one third (33 per cent) of the total TV population – and helped the channel to its biggest audience share in 12 years. Based on data covering the Opening Ceremony and the eleven […]

September 11, 2024

Jackson named Channel 4’s Chief Marketing Officer

Channel 4 has appointed Katie Jackson as the organisation’s new Chief Marketing Officer. She will lead marketing and brand strategy across Channel 4 and will play a key role in its ambitious Fast Forward strategy, accelerating its transformation into an agile and genuinely digital-first public service streamer. Jackson will have oversight for elevating the organisation’s […]

July 2, 2024

PSB leaders mark Freely launch

Tim Davie (Director General, BBC), Dame Carolyn McCall (CEO, ITV), Alex Mahon (CEO, Channel 4) and Sarah Rose (President, Channel 5) have marked the launch of new streaming service Freely. They highlighted the importance of public service broadcasting, and the role Freely can play in its future. Davie commented on the power of public service […]

June 25, 2024By Colin Mann

RTS London Convention returns in September

The Royal Television Society (RTS) has announced that its RTS London Convention 2024 will take place on September 17th at Kings Place, London. The biennial event will be chaired by Netflix’s Anna Mallett, Vice President, Production, EMEA/UK, with Netflix coming on board as the Principal Sponsor. For 2024, the Convention is titled The Next Episode: […]

May 1, 2024

C4 “digital-first” by 2030, as job cuts rise

Channel 4 has unveiled its five-year plan to reshape the organisation and accelerate its transformation into a genuinely digital-first public service streamer by 2030. Meanwhile there are numerous reports that previously specified job cuts of 200 will now reach 250. This would represent the biggest cuts in the pubcasters history and account for 15 per […]

January 29, 2024

Channel 4 warns of job cuts

Channel 4 is planning a round of job cuts as the UK broadcaster shifts its focus to streaming. Up to 200 job cuts are expected, with an official announcement due later this quarter. In an internal email sent to staff, CEO Alex Mahon said: “What we are doing now is accelerating our existing plans to […]

January 8, 2024

MPs to quiz C4 chiefs

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons is to hold an Evidence Session on the work of Channel 4. The meeting on November 28th is a regular scrutiny session of the broadcaster’s annual performance. The Committee will quiz the Chair (Sir Ian Cheshire), and Chief Executive of Channel 4 (Alex […]

November 27, 2023By Colin Mann

Media Bill: Industry reaction

Dame Caroline Dinenage, Chair of the UK House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has welcomed the introduction of the Media Bill after the Secretary of State confirmed that the Government has accepted the majority of recommendations made by the Committee after its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. Commenting on the First Reading of […]

November 9, 2023By Colin Mann

UK announces C4 production protections

The UK’s TV production industry will benefit from a package of new safeguards as the government proceeds with reforms – including via the Media Bill introduced in Parliament on November 8th – to support Channel 4’s long-term sustainability. Earlier in 2023, the government committed to giving Channel 4 the ability via the Media Bill to […]

November 8, 2023