Channel 4 Posts Record Annual Results As Revenues Top £1B For First Time, Providing Yet More Concrete Evidence Against Privatization

deadline.com:

Channel 4 has provided yet more concrete evidence to remain in public ownership, posting a record set of financial results including revenues topping £1B ($1.18B) for the first time, digital advertising shooting upwards and more spend than ever in the nations and regions.Bosses at the broadcaster led by CEO Alex Mahon have repeatedly argued that the government’s claim it could be “unleashed” by privatization is incorrect, with the It’s a Sin and We are Lady Parts network already performing so well, and earlier this week Mahon revealed that the report’s publication was delayed due to the government’s desire to reword some of it that she implied would have made its financial situation appear worse.Today’s results solidify Mahon and co’s position, with turnover rising by an impressive 24% (helped by a return to somewhat pre-COVID normality) to £1.16B ($1.37B), a pre-tax surplus topping £100M ($118M), which rocketed by 36%, and a huge boost in content spend.The government’s major argument that Channel 4 needs to be able to better respond to competition from digital streaming giants also fell flat, with the report showing digital advertising revenue, one of the network’s key growth metrics, rose by 40% to £224M ($265M) and now comprises 19% of total revenue.

Channel 4 is targeting that figure to be 30% by 2025 and said it is on track.And views to VoD player All4 rose by 21% to 1.5B, with 400M more required to hit Channel 4’s 2025 target, again well within reach.Splashing The CashChannel 4’s commitment to the British independent production sector, a commitment that could be watered down by a sale, was also strongly evidenced by a 29% increase in content spend to £671M ($793M), a similar percentage rise to the BBC’s shown