Channel 4 wants the UK television industry to know: the dark days are over.
The 40-year-old British broadcasting institution has suffered one of the most grueling periods in its history after a dramatic ad market slump brutally exposed its business model.
Content was cut or delayed, more than 200 employees were fired, and Channel 4’s foundational relationship with UK producers was tested to breaking point.
But as the sun comes up on the 2024 Edinburgh TV Festival, Channel 4’s chief content officer Ian Katz is attempting to reassure the industry that better days lie ahead.
Hosting a dinner for talent and journalists on Tuesday night, Katz told the room that the ad market is “wheezing back into life” and the picture is “much brighter.”
The former Newsnight editor was not specific about the extent of advertising recovery, but his message is a welcome one for the UK television business.
If Channel 4 is seeing the green shoots of recovery, other broadcasters will likely be tending to similarly verdant signs of hope after some concern that the ad market was permanently in the mud.
Katz told the Edinburgh TV Festival dinner that Channel 4’s commissioning patterns are now comparable to 2019, when the broadcaster spent £660M ($859M) on output.
Katz, who has been on something of a charm offensive with producers and press in recent months, acknowledged that steps taken by Channel 4 to cut costs have been keenly felt.
Channel 4 commissions all of its original content from independent producers, many of whom have been raging at the broadcaster and calling for regime change.
This noise has dialed down recently and Katz pointed to bright spots in the schedule, including The Piano (“one of the nation’s best-loved shows”) and a “sparkling” election night, co-hosted by Emily Maitlis. Katz even joked that he was an “aging TV executive having a brat summer.”
During the dinner, Katz showcased a number of upcoming shows, including a preview of Ben Wheatley‘s zombie series Generation Z, starring Downton Abbey’s Sue Johnston, who was in the room.
“Generation Z is a dark and comic thriller about old zombies chasing young people. And no, that’s not a commentary on Channel 4’s commissioning strategy,” Katz joked.
In other news, Channel 4 announced that it will live broadcast ABC News’ U.S. election debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on September 10. Matt Frei will host.
Not unlike Harris’ message of hope at the Democratic National Convention, Channel 4 will be hoping that the upbeat vibe it is bringing to the Edinburgh TV Festival resonates with delegates.
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