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Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pact Slams Channel 4's IP Play and In-House Production Plans: ‘A Bitter Pill to Swallow for the Indie Sector'
Pact has delivered a blistering critique of Channel 4's newly unveiled plans to acquire production companies outright and launch in-house production capabilities. The U.K. screen sector trade body for independent production and distribution companies revealed it was given virtually no advance notice of the sweeping changes, receiving only a summary of the proposals 'late yesterday' before the public announcement on Wednesday. More from Variety Channel 4 Shifts Strategy: Moves Into Production While Reducing Deficit Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon to Step Down Channel 4 Buys Nordic Noir Thriller 'The Darkness' From Paramount Global Content Distribution 'Having fought very hard against the privatization of Channel 4, this is a bitter pill to swallow for the indie sector,' said Pact CEO John McVay in a statement that signals growing tensions between the public service broadcaster and the production community that has supplied its content for over four decades. The controversy centers on Channel 4's intention to transform its existing Indie Growth Fund into a new Content Investment Fund that will shift from supporting independent producers to fueling the broadcaster's own production ambitions. While Channel 4 executives Alex Mahon and Jonathan Allan framed the move as essential to 'generate new income streams' and ensure 'long-term sustainability,' Pact said it was 'bitterly disappointed,' and noted that Channel 4's strategy to wholly acquire companies would 'directly impact market share in an already fragile market.' The trade body expressed outrage at what it perceives as a stark contradiction between the current strategy and Mahon's previous characterization of a 'measured manner' approach when addressing the parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee – the influential cross-party group that oversees British media policy – in April. Pact's statement raises pointed questions about Channel 4's financial stewardship, challenging why the broadcaster is only now discovering 'savings and efficiencies' to fund a new in-house development team 'after years of diminishing program budgets.' The organization has demanded that the Channel 4 board of directors publish specific proposals to substantiate claims that indies will ultimately benefit from this restructuring. Perhaps most alarming to independent producers is the revelation that Channel 4 intends to house both its commissioning team and the new in-house production unit in the same physical space. Pact deemed this arrangement 'unacceptable,' arguing that regardless of promised guidelines, the situation inevitably creates an unlevel playing field when 'a commissioner meets a member of the development team in the Channel 4 canteen queue.' Variety has reached out to Channel 4 for comment. The confrontation comes at a pivotal moment for Channel 4, which recently reported streaming views up 13% to a record 1.8 billion, though still posting a pre-tax deficit of £2 million ($2.6 million) despite significant improvement over the previous year. As Mahon prepares to exit the broadcaster in July, leaving incoming interim CEO Jonathan Allan to navigate these contentious waters, the indie production sector appears poised for a protracted battle over what many view as an existential threat to the unique creative ecosystem that has defined British television for decades. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon to Step Down
Channel 4 has announced that Alex Mahon has decided to step down as CEO and will leave the business in summer this year. Mahon joined the U.K. network in 2017 as the channel's first female CEO. Under her tenure, Channel 4 has battled privatization attempts and seismic shifts in viewing habits. It has produced hugely impactful, landmark programmes such as 'It's a Sin' and 'Russell Brand: Dispatches' and, through Film4, backed film ssuch as 'The Zone of Interest,' 'The Banshees of Inisherin,' 'All of Us Strangers' and 'Poor Things.' More from Variety Channel 4 Buys Nordic Noir Thriller 'The Darkness' From Paramount Global Content Distribution U.K.'s Channel 4 Orders First Digital Original Drama, Sci-Fi Series 'Beth' Starring Nicholas Pinnock and Abbey Lee (EXCLUSIVE) 'Leaving Neverland' Sequel 'Surviving Michael Jackson' Set for March 'Working at Channel 4 has been a lifetime privilege because Channel 4 is the most extraordinary organisation. What we get to do here is much more than television because we reflect our country with humour, creativity, grit, and care. We try our best to challenge convention and to change conversations. And we do it with a kind of irreverent brilliance that simply doesn't exist anywhere else,' said Mahon. 'I feel lucky beyond belief to have had the chance to lead Channel 4 for nearly eight years – through calm seas (very few) and stormy waters (more than our fair share). From navigating the threat of privatisation (twice), to shifting out of London, to digital transformation, lockdowns, political upheaval, advertising chaos – there has never been a dull moment. But through every twist and turn, there's been one constant: the astonishing calibre, resilience, and creativity of all my colleagues at Channel 4.' Channel 4's Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Allan, will serve as interim CEO while the board looks for a successor. 'Alex is a great figure in British television. She has been one of the most impactful CEOs since Jeremy Isaacs' founding of Channel 4 more than 42 years ago. She is business minded and has also been transformational both culturally and creatively, proving time and again her extraordinary ability to inspire and drive positive and meaningful change. Under her leadership, Channel 4 has moved with the times and driven the times,' said Dawn Airey, Channel 4 Interim Chair. 'Her commitment to Channel 4's public service mission has been unwavering. She has backed entertaining, shocking, interesting telly, never playing it safe and her grit and resilience more than met the rough-tough challenges of recent times.' Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in May 2025
