Last year, Channel 4 executives accepted bonus payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars, even as the channel suffered the steepest revenue decline in its 41-year history.
The commercially-funded national broadcaster reported a 10% drop in total revenue last year to £1.02bn on the previous year, and £120m less than in 2022, the lowest in recent decades. This was the sharpest decline in income.
While executives enjoy bonuses, the Guardian revealed in January that Channel 4 was moving to cut its staff by 240 people following poor results in 2023. This is the largest layoff in at least the past 15 years.
Channel 4's latest annual report, published on Tuesday, said the company's chief executive Alex Mahon, chief operating officer Jonathan Allan and chief content officer Ian Katz. It was revealed that he took home £2.15 million in salary and bonuses. last year.
These include Mahon and Allan receiving bonuses of £375,000 despite Channel 4's poor performance, while Katz refused to accept more than £100,000 in prize money .
Mr Katz is responsible for the company's content commissioning budget, which was cut by £50m to £663m last year as part of a cost-cutting strategy. This caused a severe financial blow to the hundreds of small independent television producers who work with Channel 4.
Mr Mahon said on Tuesday that Channel 4 had initially planned to spend more than £713m in 2022, when the market was experiencing a huge post-Covid boom, and that TV producers had to said the financial impact was actually even worse.
Asked why two senior Channel 4 executives received performance bonuses despite a difficult year for the broadcaster and its staff, Mr Mahon said: [last year] “It's down 35% year-on-year, the lowest level since 2011,” she said. “Ian [Katz] He declined to accept an executive bonus because of his affinity for the indie community. For him, it was an important decision.
“we [Mahon and Allan] I received a significantly reduced bonus in line with [Channel 4’s] Describe key performance indicators and how the compensation committee determines its compensation. ”
In 2022, a record year for Channel 4, Mr Mahon earned around £1.5 million, including a £594,000 bonus, making him the biggest paycheck in Channel 4's 41-year history. Last year, Ms Mahon received a salary of £619,000 and a bonus of £247,000, taking her total including benefits to £993,000.
Separately, Channel 4 bosses last year cut planned retention bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of pounds for an “indefinite period” after a backlash from TV producers struggling with the broadcaster's program cuts. We agreed to postpone it.
The royalty payments were intended to honor their contributions when the government halted plans to privatize broadcasters.
It was revealed on Tuesday that Channel 4's remuneration committee had agreed to pay out this retention bonus to executives in July as the advertising market stabilized.
These payments, totaling £391,000 to Mahon, Allan and Cutts, are included in Channel 4's 2022 annual report and are separate from performance-based bonuses.
Broadcasters' advertising revenue, which they still rely on for 80% of their total revenue, will fall by 9.6% from £1.25bn to £1.14bn in 2023, in proportion to the 2009 advertising recession. It was the worst decline since then.
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Total staff numbers increased from 1,197 in 2022 to 1,351 in 2023, and total staff costs increased from £108m to £123m year-on-year.
Overall, Channel 4 reported a deficit of £52m in 2023, after three years of a total budget surplus of £178m.
“We had three years of surplus,” Mahon said. “The idea of our model is that you can use it to continue investing 'down' for years. It is now important for us to use that surplus to diversify our business. ”
Asked by Channel 4 if he would consider asking the government for help, Mr Mahon said: We are always open to ideas. ”
Digital revenue rose 10% last year to £280m, accounting for just over a quarter of total revenue, and is forecast to reach 30% in 2024, one year ahead of target.
However, traditional linear TV advertising fell by 16%, or £124m, from £766m to £642m between 2022 and 2023.
Separately, Channel 4 will offer all-night coverage of the US presidential election, with Boris Johnson and adult film star Stormy Daniels at the center of the “hush money” trial over his affair with Donald Trump. I signed up as part of the plan. It's been 32 years.
Reporting will be provided by Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Emily Maitlis, former BBC news presenter and current co-host of the News Agents podcast, while the contract with CNN will include guests, It will feature sharing of reporters, analysts, and graphics. And data.
