Ian Katz Says Channel 4 Has Been “More Honest” Than Rivals About Commissioning Slowdown – Edinburgh TV Festival

deadline.com:

Channel 4 has “perhaps been a bit more honest” than its rivals about the recent commissioning slowdown, according to progams boss Ian Katz, who said there has been a “perception” that his network’s financial picture is “more dramatic than elsewhere.” Katz was grilled at the Edinburgh TV Festival about its heavily-reported commissioning slowdown and the exec said Channel 4 has “perhaps been a bit more honest” about financial woes than other broadcasters, all of whom he claimed have been impacted.

He blamed the slowdown on the ad revenue slump, the U.S. strikes and “streamers pulling billions from their budgets” and said that much of the press around Channel 4 canceling shows due to its own financial picture is “not true” but was due to the natural cycle. “The commissioning slowdown has hit the whole industry and every commercial broadcaster has been affected by the ad revenue slump,” he said. “Other broadcasters have chosen to communicate with suppliers whichever way they choose but I think that has led to the percetion that the picture at Channel 4 has been more dramatic than elsewhere.” Beyond the UK’s shores, Katz said we could be “heading towards a reset that sees lower levels of production globally” due to Wall Street’s lost confidence in the streamers.

Katz’s comments came a day after the programs boss of main rival ITV said he would not be dropping its program budget during the slowdown. “I hear Channel 4 shut the gates or something but we are not doing that,” Kevin Lygo said during his spotlight session.

Earlier this year, Channel 4 was criticized by portions of the indie sector for passing on financial pain to producers, including the high-profile cancelation of a Four Weddings reboot.