Channel 4 records £15m loss in 2013
Channel 4 recorded a loss of £15m in 2013, although the broadcaster insisted it was on course to break even this year after cutting its losses by almost half of those reported in 2012.
Report: Channel 4 reported a £15m loss in 2013
The Channel invested £597m on content in 2013 and overall cash reserves fell from £261m in 2012 to £238m in 2013.
Total advertising and sponsorship revenues saw a small increase in 2013, rising by two million to reach £846m. However, total revenue fell from £925m in 2012 to £908m in 2013, and TV advertising and sponsorship revenues fell by £8m to £825m.
The broadcaster’s return from investment in digital services continued to grow, with non-linear revenues rising by 15 per cent year on year to £61m. Nearly a third (29.5 per cent) of all video on demand views came from logged-in, registered users and the number of registered users rose by four million to 10 million, the broadcaster said.
Meanwhile, Channel 4’s audience share fell from 6.6 per cent to 6.1 per cent.
David Abraham, Channel 4 chief executive, said that the broadcaster was “on track” to break even by the end of 2014.
“Our data strategy is advancing with over 10 million viewers registered including one-in-two 16-24 year olds,” he said. “As well as providing invaluable audience insight, this is enabling comprehensive demographic targeting on 4oD.
“With strong performance in our key audience demographics of 16-34 year olds and ABC1s, revenue is stable and we are on track to break even by the end of this year.”
Abraham added that further resources would be committed in the time ahead to its digital services.
“Reflecting the corporation’s track record for digital innovation, today we are announcing the biggest overhaul of our digital services since the launch of 4oD in 2006,” he went on. “Following the release of download functionality, 3G and 4G connectivity, and the full integration of short form content, we are now working on a significant overhaul of our digital estate to enable a much broader and increasingly personalised user experience.
“The refreshed service will roll-out across multiple platforms from late 2014 and across 2015.”
Bonus pay for Channel 4’s senior executives, including Abraham, was cut after targets were missed, falling by more than half from £480,000 last year to £221,000.