EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s content material chief Ian Katz has admitted to his staff that his future is unsure, which means there may very well be a dramatic altering of the guard on the UK broadcaster following the twin exit of its CEO and chair.
Deadline is advised that Katz gathered employees on Tuesday morning, the day after Alex Mahon introduced her departure, and posited that he might not be a part of the brand new CEO’s plans. Katz is certainly one of Mahon’s closest allies and was her first main rent in 2017. His remarks are unsurprising provided that Channel 4 CEOs have a tendency to choose their very own content material chiefs, however colleagues mentioned it was notable that Katz – a popular exec whose tenure has been a combined one marked by a scarcity of breakout hits – mentioned the quiet bit out loud. Channel 4 declined touch upon the Katz assembly.
“His message was: as soon as a brand new CEO is available in there might be a renewal of artistic management, most definitely. Till then, I’m nonetheless right here and I’m placing my foot on the gasoline,” mentioned one particular person within the room. One other insider mentioned Katz was eager to emphasise that Channel 4 isn’t about to drag its “horns in” and can proceed to fee content material as ordinary.
One supply mentioned that employees are bracing for one more interval of instability following the battle over Channel 4’s possession and the latest advert market shock. In addition to government change, Channel 4 can be with no chair after Ian Cheshire give up having served only one time period. Former Channel 4 boss Michael Grade, who’s now the chair of media regulator Ofcom, is main the seek for Cheshire’s successor, a five-day-a-month gig with a £95,000 ($127,000) wage.
The obtained knowledge is {that a} CEO might be appointed solely as soon as a chair is in place. Given the problem of discovering credible CEO candidates and the truth that some might have prolonged discover intervals, it’s doable that Mahon’s successor might not be in put up till properly into subsequent 12 months.
Within the meantime and as a recruitment course of is carried out, ex-Channel 5 boss Daybreak Airey is interim chair and Jonathan Allan, Channel 4’s Chief Working Officer, has taken on the CEO put up quickly. Katz is believed to have advised employees this case is “uncommon,” though there may be precedent. Chair Luke Johnson and CEO Andy Duncan each exited within the late noughties and had been changed swiftly by Terry Burns and David Abraham respectively. Abraham then selected now-Apple TV+ Europe boss Jay Hunt as his content material chief.
Hypothesis about Mahon’s future reached fever pitch a few years again, with rumors connecting her with a job at French style home Chloé. That hypothesis died down considerably in latest months as Channel 4 was hit by the worldwide financial disaster, skilled soured relations with indies, and enacted a 200-staff layoff plan badged below a ‘Quick Ahead’ digital-first technique. Revealed up to now hour, she is transferring to run reside leisure agency Superstruct, which is owned by Mediawan backer KKR and CVC Capital Companions.
“I believe there was collective shock on the announcement. All of us knew she was going to depart, however we didn’t anticipate it so swiftly,” mentioned an insider.
Mahon’s Channel 4 stint has been stuffed with peaks and troughs. She has received reward for navigating Channel 4 by a part-relocation out of London, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Conservative authorities’s failed try and privatize the broadcaster — a deeply unpopular proposal within the business.
Who Will Be C4’s New CEO?
Business ideas have instantly turned to who may substitute Mahon. Interim CEO Allan is seen as a reputable candidate. He has been with the Married at First Sight community for properly over a decade, working his means up from Gross sales Director to his present place as one of the highly effective figures in Horseferry Highway. Sources questioned, nonetheless, whether or not Allan has the “artistic conviction” for what one ex-staffer termed the “mandatory artistic renewal” required to safe Channel 4’s future.
Hunt, the previous Channel 4 content material chief, has additionally been linked with the job. There’s a feeling that she may have unfinished enterprise at Channel 4 — Hunt was the frontrunner to turn into CEO in 2017, however give up the broadcaster earlier than the recruitment course of concluded and the job was awarded to Mahon. Hunt, who has impressed at Apple with hits like Sluggish Horses and Dangerous Sisters, has additionally been linked with the vacant BBC content material job in latest weeks. She can be chair of the British Movie Institute.
Sources additionally pointed to Jane Turton, the CEO of All3Media, whose manufacturing large makes the likes of Gogglebox and The Circle for Channel 4. Turton, a highly-regarded operator and staunch proponent of public service broadcasting, is persistently linked with main business roles. She helped oversee All3Media’s transition to new possession, following its $1.45B takeover by RedBird IMI. The deal was alleged to unleash All3Media within the M&An area, however almost a 12 months on, the producer is but to make a serious acquisition, which some have steered may very well be a supply of frustration for Turton. Rumors persist that All3Media is out there for ITV Studios. Had been that deal to undergo, there’s a large likelihood she may land the highest job on the mixed entity.
Whoever takes the position, the UK TV business is on the verge of one other spherical of sweeping change as BBC content material boss Charlotte Moore additionally prepares to exit. One one that is not going to be making use of for Moore’s position is Katz, who is alleged to be uninterested within the BBC job. At the beginning of the 12 months, we wrote about how British TV’s boss class was setting new precedents with the size of its collective tenure. Quick-forward three months and the dominoes are starting to fall.
