Channel 4 boss says BBC facing a ‘very difficult situation’

Receive free Channel Four Television Corp updates

We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Channel Four Television Corp news every morning.

The boss of Channel 4 has said the broadcaster’s management would have been quickly notified about the sort of complaint made to the BBC over the behaviour of its suspended presenter, describing it as a “very difficult situation” for the national broadcaster.

BBC bosses have been criticised this week for their handling of allegations that a top presenter paid tens of thousands of pounds to a young person for sexually explicit photos.

The BBC complaint system failed to flag the case to senior management or talk to the presenter until last Thursday — seven weeks after the initial claim was made, according to the broadcaster’s timeline of events.

“It’s a very difficult situation, and not for me to comment on it. We get an email every day with a summary of what’s coming in through inquiries,” Alex Mahon told the Financial Times.

“And there’s an escalation process to HR of that nature. So, as confident as I can be, that would have escalated to me in all of these situations.”

Channel 4 on Wednesday revealed that its revenue last year fell by 2 per cent to £1.1bn due to a drop in advertising on its traditional TV channels. This was in part offset by growth in digital advertising, which now makes up more than a fifth of its total revenue. 

The media group made a surplus of £20mn for the year, a drop from £101mn in 2021, which will be reinvested into content and strategic objectives.

Channel 4 had cut back its programming due to tightening financial conditions, said Mahon. She added that she would like to continue to broadcast The Andrew Neil Show, which has been rumoured to be under threat.

“We spotted the clouds on the horizon, we took some prudent action to reduce the amount that we bought in,” said Mahon. “The ad market is going to be tough this year, there’s no escaping that. And there’s no escaping the reality of the economy in the UK this year.”

This time last year the future of Channel 4 was in doubt as the government weighed up whether to privatise or sell the broadcaster. Mahon said the group was now able to concentrate on its future, develop its digital reach and focus more on reaching younger audiences.

But, she added, the future of public service broadcasting was still at risk unless the government ensured that its media bill became law this year to safeguard the prominence of British channels on online platforms and TV.

“The media bill is urgently needed . . . to make sure that Britain’s public service media is findable particularly for young people and is prominent in their lives,” she said.

“If it’s not passed, the government could find that the long-term sustainability of all the public service sector in the UK is unavoidably endangered.”

Mahon added that Channel 4, like “the BBC, ITV, can’t compete with the money that YouTube or Netflix can spend on those prominent positions”. She added that the bill was needed to “make sure that public service content is found there from a societal point of view”.

The broadcaster has already launched a new digital YouTube platform, Channel 4.0 to boost its online content. She said the media group needed to “fish where the fish are”, which meant using platforms such as TikTok and Snap.

“We can’t pretend that we somehow have a magnet that brings audiences back to old ways of behaviour,” she said.

Tom Harrington, an analyst at Enders, said the broadcaster was on “the right route” by putting content in places where younger viewers were, “unlike almost all other broadcasters that prioritise their own platforms”.

However, he added that online platforms were competitive and fragmented, “and compared to broadcast TV the opportunity to monetise rather than just market, get audience data and attribution for your content is terrible”.

He said: “Solving this conundrum is the biggest task in TV and there is no clear answer — but at least Channel 4 is being bold with its strategy.”

Mahon said the channel faced “harder choices” this year over where to invest in shows and digital distribution, and whether “you service all of the demands of live television”.

After scrapping privatisation plans, the government opened the possibility of Channel 4 making more programmes in-house. The move sparked concern among independent production companies that the broadcaster could become a rival.

Mahon said that Channel 4 was working with government officials “to know how we might do it in a way that doesn’t dramatically change” the market.

Mahon wants to see conditions set out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport before committing to any move. In-house production “has to be done the right way”, she said. “Because you don’t want to damage the health of the industry.”

One of Channel 4’s largest suppliers of content is All3Media, which is being lined up as a potential acquisition by ITV. Mahon said that any deal would need to ensure the continued supply of shows to Channel 4.