U.K. Broadcaster Channel 4’s Plan to Cut 28% of Workforce Prompts Parliamentary Scrutiny: ‘Today’s News Will Be Deeply Worrying’

Channel 4’s plans to cut over a quarter of its workforce are set to be scrutinized by a parliamentary committee.

The British public service broadcaster confirmed Wednesday it planned to slash around 340 roles, equivalent to 28% of its headcount, within the next few months.

The move is partly aimed at protecting the network’s already under-pressure commissioning budgets, with a press release about the news citing “a rapidly changing media landscape, including evolving audience habits, increasing global competition, a challenging consumer environment and a volatile advertising market.”

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Channel 4’s CEO Priya Dogra, who joined the broadcaster six months ago, said: “The challenges we face require a fundamental transformation in how we work.”

In response to the news, the cross-party Parliamentary media committee confirmed it planned to “question” Channel 4 over its plans.

“Today’s news will be deeply worrying for the talented and dedicated people who work at Channel 4,” said MP Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport committee. “I’m sure that the committee will want to question Channel 4 about today’s news and how they will work with other public service broadcasters to ensure that they remain relevant and sustainable.”

Channel 4 is publicly-owned but ad-funded, meaning that unlike fellow publicly-owned broadcaster the BBC, it receives almost no public funding and instead relies on advertising. Under previous governments there were plans to sell off the broadcaster, which caused alarm within the U.K. industry. There are currently no plans to revisit those proposals.

Between the advertising downturn and proliferation in the number of U.S.-owned streaming platforms operating in the U.K. (HBO Max launched in the territory earlier this year, joining others including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Paramount+) not to mention the rise of YouTube, it has become an increasingly difficult environment for the PSBs to operate in without backing from a larger entity. The BBC is funded by the U.K. public, Channel 5 is owned by Paramount Skydance and ITV recently confirmed its linear and streaming operations would be acquired by Comcast-owned Sky.

It has been a particularly tough time for Channel 4, which has recently been rocked by a scandal surrounding one of its most popular shows, “Married at First Sight U.K.,” and is still searching for a new director of programs, with incumbent Ian Katz set to step down next month.

“The proposals announced today are intended to secure Channel 4’s future as a trusted, independent British broadcaster,” said Channel 4 chair Geoff Cooper. “By taking action now, it can build a more sustainable and resilient organisation, maximise investment in content and strengthen its ability to deliver public value for audiences, the creative industries and the UK for the years ahead.”