The move comes as Thompson attempts to reduce overheads in 2003 by 33% or £36m on 2000 levels. It will also help pay for the 7.5% increase to the channel's programming budget for 2003 to £430m, the highest increase in the channel's 20-year history.
The main Channel 4 service will lose 122 staff, with an unspecified number of redundancies from 4 Ventures. These are in addition to the 50 jobs lost when the FilmFour production house was closed and the 48 that were axed in 2001 in response to the ad downturn.
The new marketing division will be headed up by Polly Cochrane, who becomes director of marketing, overseeing a combined team to include all Channel 4 and 4 Ventures marketing and creative services teams, press and publicity and market planning.
Thompson told staff: "I know that we have a difficult process to go through, but I also believe that what we’re doing is turning a big corner and building a channel and an organisation that can really succeed...the key to winning is in commissioning the strongest and richest possible schedule. Every penny we can transfer from our costs into the programme budget helps us to do that."
The Channel 4 board is to be slimmed down from seven to five following the departure of director of strategy and marketing David Brooks, who is already leaving the channel, and Janet Walker, director of finance and business affairs, who is to step down once the restructuring is complete.
Brooks' role is being split between Cochrane on the marketing side and Jonathon Thompson who becomes head of strategy. They will form a new senior management team along with Stuart Cosgrove, who is promoted to director of nations and regions.
The Channel 4 board will now comprise five executive directors comprising Thompson; managing director David Scott, who also becomes deputy chief executive with responsibility for finance following Walker's departure; former commercial director Andy Barnes, who now becomes sales director; director of television Tim Gardam; and commercial director of Channel 4 and managing director of 4 Ventures, Rob Woodward.
Staff were officially told of the cuts at a meeting this morning, however the news has been circulating the industry since the beginning of the week.
Channel 4 is coming under pressure to shore up its ratings after it was recently beaten during prime-time by Channel 5 for the first time.
Channel 5 has recenlty improved its profile with arts and documentaries scheduled in peak time, as well as buying in high-profile film premieres for week-day peak-time broadcast.
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