Channel 4 Cuts Jobs and Budget

LONDON, September 23: In
response to the advertising downturn and economic pressures, Channel 4 is
laying off 150 employees and cutting spending by £100 million over two years.

The U.K. broadcaster is
reducing its programming budget by more than £25 million in 2008 against a
budget of just over £600 million and a further £50 million reduction in its
cost base in 2009.

In addition to cuts in
programming, Channel 4 is proposing to reduce its headcount by up to 150 posts
for a total of between 800 and 850 people. The broadcaster will offer voluntary
redundancies and consult staff on other ways to minimize compulsory job losses.

Chief executive, Andy
Duncan, said: “Channel 4 has outperformed its competitors in recent years but
the economic downturn is now affecting the entire media industry. Our objective
as a public organization is to operate at break even while maximizing creative
investment. With revenues falling, we’ve no alternative but to cut costs. My
particular regret is the impact of these job losses amongst our skilled and
dedicated workforce.”
Channel 4’s latest round of cost efficiencies
has been prompted by a decline in TV advertising in 2008 of up to 5 percent.
The latest cost reduction program accelerates
an ongoing drive by Channel 4 to improve efficiency, while it discusses new
forms of funding with the U.K. government and the media regulatory body Ofcom.

In other news, the
premium-rate phone lines operator Eckoh is counter-suing Channel 4 over the Richard
& Judy phone-in
scandal—when viewers were cheated on the You Say We Pay contest during
the show.

Channel 4 had issued a
high court writ against Eckoh for breach of contract in a bid to recover the £1
million it was fined by Ofcom.

—By Anna Carugati