The Stage

Channel 4 to cut 150 jobs as advertising revenue falls

Published Tuesday 23 September 2008 at 12:50 by Matthew Hemley

Channel 4 is to axe around 150 jobs as part of a cost cutting initiative aimed at saving it £100 million in the next two years.

The broadcaster said in a statement today that the measures were a result of downturn in advertising revenue this year.

In order to make savings of £50 million in this year alone, Channel 4 said it would be looking to cut around £25 million from its programming budget for 2008, and reduce spend in other areas, including marketing, new business investment, new media and general overheads.

The job cuts will go towards saving the broadcaster a further £50 million in 2009. Channel 4, which claimed it was facing “some of the most challenging economic circumstances in its history”, said it would offer voluntary redundancies and consult staff on other ways to minimise compulsory job losses.

Its chief executive Andy Duncan warned that the “economic downturn is now affecting the entire media industry”.

“Our objective as a public organisation is to operate at break even while maximising 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,” he said.

Last week, media regulator Ofcom stated Channel 4 would face an annual deficit of up to £100 million by 2012, excluding the cost of the additional public service commitments outlined in its Next on 4 strategic blueprint, which it claims will cost more than £50 million.