Channel 4’s ambitious plans for growth in Leeds at risk

Alex Mahon, CEO, Channel 4

The impact of Channel 4’s location of its HQ to Leeds has yet to be fully measured, but you can hear it in conversations in coffee shops and bars where it is seen as a catalyst for further investment and opportunity.

It’s talked about as shining a spotlight on the region, its talent and its potential, and the West Yorkshire Mayor even hailed it recently as a triumph which demonstrates the region is punching its weight.

But with the Government now looking to move forward with privatising the publicly owned broadcaster following the release of its White Paper last week, Channel 4 has taken matters into its own hands with the publication of its 4: The Next Episode plan.

The document, which has previously been shared with Government, was published on Thursday and discussed by Channel 4’s CEO Alex Mahon, who oversaw the bid process and subsequent launch of the broadcaster’s Leeds-base at The Majestic.

Among the plans set out in the document – which aims to keep the broadcaster in public ownership while also leveraging over £1bn of private sector investment to deliver growth – is a prediction that its headcount in Leeds will surpass 200 by 2024, as the broadcaster says it plans to “dramatically expand” its digital content production studio in Leeds – 4Studio.

Mahon however noted this was at risk by what has been published in the White Paper, which “proposes some significant changes to the Channel 4 model and to its role as a key institution as part of the UK creative industry”.

These changes, the CEO said, “potentially have a major impact on the television landscape; on where things are made, on who makes them, on what gets funded, and on where people work.”

The last point was one that was highlighted a number of times by the Channel 4 boss.

Citing the success of 4Studio in Leeds, which contributed £14m of revenue in 2021 as the company posted a record breaking performance of over £1bn for the first time in its 40 year history, she noted the White Paper failed to offer any requirement for a new owner to “maintain any presence in Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow or Manchester”.

The document also highlighted the cost of the White Paper’s plans, noting that the direction of travel from Government not only put regional jobs at risk but also through removing the broadcasters suggested increased regional spend. Mahon explained the broadcaster wants to enshrine a promise to spend 50% of commissioning budgets outside of London vs the OFCOM mandated 35%. This would prevent a potential loss of £86m per year to the nations and regions.

Ultimately, when asked on what the future had in store, Mahon reiterated that any move to privatisation was still a long way off and would require more debate and a vote in Parliament.

She said: “There are plenty of stages to go in the ownership discussion. Government has been very clear that they want to deliver everything that Channel 4 is and make it wonderful into the future.

“We have to be really clear about what the impact of certain choices will mean and not only for Channel 4 as a corporation but for the UK’s creative industries as a whole. So that’s what we’ve tried to do and that’s what we’ll continue doing, because that’s our job.”

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