Alex Mahon: Celebs Rumors

UK broadcasters have a responsibility to combat the worst effects of pornography and AI, according to the boss of Channel 4.

K.J. Yossman The U.K.’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) has launched a scholarship in memory of Channel 4 publicist Lesley Land. Land, a highly regarded publicist who worked for Channel 4, died unexpectedly last December at the age of 41. She was honored during the in memoriam segment at Sunday night’s BAFTA TV awards. Her parents Anita and Brook Land have now joined together with Channel 4 and NFTS to create the Lesley Land Scholarship, which will enable participants to study for two years on the school’s MA course in marketing, distribution and sales. The Lands will fund the scholarship, which will support the course tuition fees.

There was a moment last November when Channel 4’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief.

Welcome back Insiders. Hope you’re feeling sufficiently rested and re-energized as the world of TV and film kicks back into gear. Jesse Whittock with you for the first edition of 2023, and we have plenty for you.

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.

Naman Ramachandran The heads of the U.K. public service broadcasters (PSBs) are in agreement that the market is undergoing seismic changes and evolution is the way forward.“There’ll be huge changes going on in this market and we underestimate it at our peril,” said Tim Davie, director general of the BBC. “We’ve got to innovate, innovate, keep innovating.

ITV boss Carolyn McCall has raised concerns that the British cost of living crisis could start hampering broadcaster revenues at a time when they are emerging from the pandemic, while BBC Director General Tim Davie warned against “complacency” over changing audience habits.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has extended its strategic partnership with YouTube to make 1000 hours of full Channel 4 and E4 episodes from new and popular series available to watch across Channel 4’s YouTube network in the U.K. and Ireland by the end of 2022.

Film4 has promoted Director Daniel Battsek to Chairman and his place will be taken by Ollie Madden.

Naman Ramachandran Daniel Battsek, director, Film4, has been elevated to chair, while deputy director and creative director Ollie Madden will succeed Battsek as director.Film4 is the filmmaking arm of U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, which invests £25 million ($31 million) annually to develop and co-fund British films with British talent.

RTS London Unveils Lineup & Warner Bros Discovery’s Priya Dogra As Chair

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has issued her most combative response yet to the government’s decision to privatize the broadcaster, calling the move “disappointing and a shame” and implying it will have damaging consequences for the UK TV industry.

A privatized Channel 4 could lose the UK economy up to £3BN ($3.8BN) over the next decade and support 4,000 fewer jobs, according to the It’s a Sin network’s alternative privatization proposal, unveiled to journalists today.

Interested parties have already started lining up to enquire about buying UK broadcaster Channel 4, following this week’s pull on the first lever of the process of sale by the British Government.

A war of words has broken out in the British media over the forthcoming plan to privatize Channel 4 – with the Secretary of State for Culture Nadine Dorries in one corner, and the broadcaster’s chief executive Alex Mahon in the other.

Channel 4, which would result in the broadcaster being sold off after 40 years in public ownership.As reported by The Guardian, the government is hoping to raise close to £1billion, with the money potentially being used for creative training and for independent production companies.Last year, former Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that the privatisation of Channel 4 was “needed” in order for it to “compete with the streaming giants”.“Without [more money], Channel 4 won’t have the money to invest in technology and programming, and it won’t be able to compete with the streaming giants,” he said, according to Sky News.Earlier in the year Ricky Gervais spoke out against the potential sale of Channel 4, calling it “a real shame”.“For almost 40 years, Channel 4 has been a launch pad for new ideas and new talent,” he wrote on Twitter. “It’s been able to do that because of its remit and not-for-profit structure and it would be a real shame if that was destroyed by selling off the channel.”Channel 4’s chief executive, Alex Mahon, revealed the news to staff on Monday (April 4): “We have been informed in the last hour that the government will shortly announce that the secretary of state has decided to proceed with the proposal to privatise Channel 4,” she wrote in an email.“In our engagement with the government during its extended period of reflection, we have proposed a vision for the next 40 years which we are confident would allow us to build on the successes of the first 40.

Channel 4 is to be privatised by the Tory government in a move set to spark furious backlash.

The UK government is pushing ahead with plans to privatize Channel 4.

Having amassed fans up and down the country, series 19 of Gogglebox hit our screens last week, with the popular Channel 4 programme bringing us the likes of Giles and Mary, Jenny and Lee and the Siddiqui family. But alongside the established fan favourites, Gogglebox bosses have announced that a new duo will take to the sofa for the first time tonight, Friday 25 February.

Gogglebox show bosses have introduced a brand new family that are set to appear on the Channel 4 show for the very first time tonight, Friday 25 February.The programme's official Twitter page made the announcement as they shared a snap of the couple, who hail from Scotland, called Joe, 25, and Roisin, 23. "Meet our new Scottish Goggleboxers Roisin and Joe! See you on the sofa for brand new #Gogglebox TONIGHT, 9pm on @Channel4." the announcement read.

Hollyoaks has announced a major change to how its future shows will be aired.

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s Speak Up whistleblowing facility was used more times last year than the previous three combined as complaints increased tenfold, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Deadline. Meanwhile, one complainant has slammed the facility for being “seriously flawed” and escalated his issue to CEO Alex Mahon.

Channel 4 says she doesn’t believe that the station is a “left-wing organisation,” amid talk of privatisation.Earlier this year, then-Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that the privatisation of the channel is “needed” in order for it to “compete with the streaming giants”.Dowden then suggested that the additional money needed can come either “on the back of the taxpayer” or from private investment.In a new interview with the Telegraph, station boss Alex Mahon discussed the potential plans, and outlined her beliefs on what Channel 4 stands for.“I don’t think we are a left-wing organisation,” she said.

Channel 4 spent nearly £30M ($40M) more than the BBC on indies outside of London last year but the number of new suppliers it worked with declined by 14%.

The big UK networks can use their different programming strengths to reach audiences with the same climate change message, according to the bosses of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky.

Manori Ravindran International EditorOver a month after her shock Culture Secretary appointment amid a dramatic cabinet reshuffle, Nadine Dorries (pictured, right) has at last met with the CEO of the U.K.’s “It’s a Sin” broadcaster Channel 4, which Boris Johnson’s government has threatened to put on the sales block.Variety can reveal that Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon (pictured, left) met this week with Dorries in what was the pair’s first meeting since the latter MP took over from Oliver Dowden as Culture Secretary.

Gogglebox hasn't had a Scottish family on for five years due to "production difficulties", according to Channel 4 's Chief Executive. Alex Mahon spoke to MPs at the Scottish Affairs Committee on Monday and was faced with complaints over a lack of Scottish families appearing on the popular programme.

Alex Mahon, the chief executive of British broadcaster Channel 4, says there’s “no evidence” that privatization of the of the public broadcaster would benefit the channel and that, rather, it would mean a lot of the PSB’s current programming would become commercially unsustainable, impacting its ability to break new talent and support Indies.

Naman Ramachandran On a tumultuous day at the Royal Television Society convention at Cambridge, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon and the U.K. government were very much in disagreement over the proposed privatization of the channel.Moments before Mahon took the stage, Oliver Dowden who was due to speak immediately after, was replaced as Culture Secretary by Nadine Dorries, in what was an equally tumultuous day at No.

Naman Ramachandran Channel 4 bosses on Tuesday came out swinging against a U.K. government bid to privatize the “Greate British Bake Off” broadcaster.The cloud of privatization — which would significantly alter the remit of Channel 4, a publicly owned not-for-profit corporation — has been hanging over the org in recent years, and was put in sharp relief Tuesday, despite the broadcaster unveiling record audiences and revenues in its annual report for 2020.Speaking to a U.K.

Channel 4 has spelled out what could be at risk if the UK government pushes ahead with proposals to sell the iconic broadcaster behind hits including The Great British Bake Off and It’s A Sin.

Naman Ramachandran The growing popularity, backed by financial clout, of global streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus are forcing U.K. public service broadcasters (PSBs) to face down an existential threat.This was the overarching theme at the virtual Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms conference, which featured top brass from the country’s technology, media and telecom sectors.

Diane Garrett In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, Variety is putting the spotlight on women around the world who have had a big impact on the entertainment industry in the past 12 months.But who are the leaders that inspire them? We decided to find out, quizzing executives, talent, producers and and talent around the world in conjunction with our annual International Women’s Impact Report. The answers ranged from political figures such as Kamala Harris, Jacinda Ardern and Michelle Obama to industry figures such as former CBS Entertainment president Nancy Tellem, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon, Beyoncè and filmmaker and activist Ava DuVernay.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorChannel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has said that the British broadcaster’s content spend will “go up massively” next year to help it compete with U.S. streamers, but she stopped short of committing to restore all of the £150M ($193M) taken out of the budget.In a Royal Television Society Digital Convention 2020 interview, the former Shine executive admitted that things got “pretty bad” for Channel 4 at the height of the pandemic.

By Tim Dams

By Jake Kanter