Channel 4 is to axe 340 jobs – around 28% of its total workforce – in support of plans to cut non-programming spending.
The state owned broadcaster, which is funded through advertising revenue and commercial income, last made a profit in 2022 and posted a £10 million deficit last year.
2022 was the same year it faced an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by the previous Conservative government to privatise it. Executives opposed the move, arguing it was a financially sustainable business with no need for outside ownership or funding.
The following year a fall in income saw it axing and delaying commissions – many from the same independent production companies which had joined its campaign against privatisation – and then in 2024 it was forced to cut 200 jobs.
Today’s cuts will be achieved by “reducing management layers, simplifying decision-making and removing duplication” and are part a “long-term” strategy to “create a simpler, more focused organisation that directs a greater proportion of its revenues towards distinctive British content.”
Full details “will be shared in the coming months” but will include “reshaping” how it reaches audiences through distribution, partnerships and platforms and “enabling greater investment in distinctive programmes”.
Chief Executive Priya Dogra said: “Channel 4 is a precious asset which plays a unique role in the UK. We need to secure and own our future so we can continue to make shows others won’t, reach audiences others can’t, and thrive as a distinctive and disruptive British voice for future generations.
“Today marks the first phase of our transformation, ensuring Channel 4 is the right shape and size to deliver its future strategy and focus investment in the programmes audiences love.”
She added: “The challenges we face require a fundamental transformation in how we work. I know the proposals we are announcing today will be very difficult for many colleagues and will have a significant impact across the organisation. Many talented people who have made an enormous contribution to Channel 4 will be leaving as a result.
“These decisions have not been taken lightly, but I strongly believe they are necessary to create a simpler, more focused and more sustainable Channel 4 that can invest a greater proportion of revenues into distinctive content, back British creativity and deliver impact for audiences long into the future.”