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Thompson: "creating a leaner C4"

Channel 4's manifesto for radical change, including major job losses, has been welcomed by agencies as a "pragmatic and intelligent" move to focus on its core business.

The decision to axe more than 100 jobs and close its Film Four distribution division was announced by chief executive Mark Thompson this week.

The channel and its associated businesses have recently announced losses of £28m - the biggest shortfall in 10 years.

"It's going to be an exciting and positive time, but it's also going to be a bumpy time," said Thompson.

"Creating a leaner, less hierarchical C4 will mean employing fewer people.

"We want to build a schedule with more risk and more
confidence."

Industry sources have greeted C4's plans for major cutbacks with optimism, claiming the move will free up funds to invest in quality programming and higher audiences.

"The announcement from C4 and Thompson does not represent any weakness, but shows a huge amount of pragmatism and intelligence in the current environment," said Zenith board director Chris Hayward.

The redundancies are understood to be mostly from the Channel's film making ventures and digital services.

"C4 initially developed its digital exploits and new ventures when the market was very buoyant," added Hayward.

"This has changed massively over the past two to three years and it is time to concentrate on its core strengths."

At a meeting of staff this week, Thompson is understood to have outlined a move to invest in programmes and save money on overheads.

Up to 60 jobs are likely to be axed following the closure of FilmFour's distribution arm - which has produced popular films such as Trainspotting and East is East, but has also been behind recent flops such as Charlotte Gray - to concentrate on original productions for the TV channel itself.

"How C4 goes about its new programme plans is crucial to its moving forward and it needs the money to do this," said MediaCom head of TV David Jowett.

"The channel must also look closely at how it will develop in the multichannel world and how it will manage the dual needs of its terrestrial and multi-channel services."

C4 lost out on last week's award of the DTT platform.
Its joint bid with ITV was rejected in favour of the BBC and Sky's plans.

The broadcaster has also been under pressure recently to win back its 16 to 34-year-old audience, in the face of competition from Channel 5.

Following the introduction
of the new Barb system, fears that C4's youth audience has diminished first emerged in January.

Early data showed that its key audience was 9.3% in the first few weeks of 2002, prompting criticism that the channel had bumped too many of its youth programmes on to E4.