Channel 4 bosses to face culture committee next week amid concerns over finances, delays and streaming strategy

Channel 4 bosses will be questioned before a powerful parliamentary committee next week about the broadcaster’s finances, delay orders and streaming strategy.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee invited chief executive Alex Mahon and chairman Ian Cheshire to examine the various issues facing the network on Wednesday 29 November.

Although the audit meeting is regular and not unusual, the committee noted that Channel 4’s overall financial performance in 2022 is lower than last year, which will be increased.

“Questions could examine C4’s reliance on the advertising market – in 2022, 89% of C4’s revenue came from advertising – and its non-advertising revenue,” the committee added. “MPs can discuss C4 tracks, streaming strategies and targeting younger audiences.”

Following a series of high-profile incidents on British television last year, the committee said it would also investigate Channel 4’s safeguards in addition to the government’s recent actions Glasses case And Great British Bake-Off network to create its own shows for the first time in its 40-year history.

Channel 4 has been hit hard by the advertising recession and producers have been frustrated by delays in delivery, the cancellation of some programs and the delay of others. Deadline’s analysis earlier this month found that producers are concerned that the network has made efforts to delay the shows’ premieres until 2024 for political reasons, which is having an effect. Channel 4 has repeatedly stressed it is a tough market and chief content officer Ian Katz recently said the broadcaster was “a bit more honest” than its rivals about the extent of the wider slowdown, despite Katz not being in court did not appear. Committee next week.

To complicate matters, Deadline announced yesterday that Channel 4’s CFO Vince Russell is leaving after five years.