Channel 4’s Top Team Defer Bonuses Amid Producer Revolt Over Cancelations & Cash Flow Crunch
06.06.2023 - 17:44
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s top executives have indefinitely deferred their six-figure loyalty bonuses amid a revolt from producers, who have voiced dismay at the British broadcaster pleading poverty as senior leaders pocket record pay packets.
Deadline can reveal that Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon and her two top lieutenants, content chief Ian Katz and commercial head Jonathan Allan, will forgo bonuses of more than £100,000 ($124,000) until the company has navigated its way through a chastening ad market slump.
The so-called “retention bonus” was introduced to stop rank-and-file staff fleeing Channel 4 as the government attempted to sell the crown jewel of UK broadcasting. The reward was extended to executive directors last September, meaning their salary would have been topped up by 25% in addition to any performance-related pay.
A Channel 4 spokeswoman confirmed the deferral “as part of a wider response to a very difficult ad market.” It is understood that Mahon, Katz, and Allan also declined a pay rise earlier this year. Their 2022 pay will be confirmed in Channel 4’s annual report later this summer, with The Guardian reporting that Mahon was on course to pocket up to £1.4M, making her the highest-paid CEO in the network’s history.
The trio made a decision in the past couple of weeks to delay their retention bonus, which was due to be paid this month. Deadline understands that they felt it was the right thing to do as they pass financial pain onto producers, who have blasted the salaries as “outrageous” in the current climate.
“It’s another slap in the face for the indie community,” was how one production chief described the situation prior to the bonus deferral. Sources said Channel 4 staff have also raised concerns about
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