Year: 2020

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon talks about the channel’s broadcasting values of diversity, equitability, open dialogue and inclusion both on and off-screen. The focus on workplace inclusion and wellbeing is shown by the broadcaster’s policies, which include agile working, mental health awareness, a menopause policy and a pregnancy loss policy.

A report by EY, based on Channel 4’s 2019 financial results, has revealed that the UK broadcaster contributes £992 million to the British economy and supports over 10,000 jobs, following the 2018 shift to the “4 All The UK” strategy which increased the main channel content spend outside London and led to the opening of regional centres across the country.

Channel 4 has announced its Global Format Fund to invest in new British-created and produced formats, as well as scaling up the Leeds-based digital content studio 4Studio to build the organisation’s social media footprint.

Alex Mahon discusses her career and her views for Channel 4 in an interview with Variety, focusing on innovation and how to become “digital-first”. The CEO talks about the broadcaster’s expansion throughout the UK, with a northern headquarters in Leeds and regional hubs in Bristol and Glasgow, allowing the company to have employees with a variety of backgrounds and who live in different environments.

Alex Mahon discusses the future of Channel 4 and the importance of representation, so as to reflect the UK’s diversity in its content and to appeal to audiences of all backgrounds and identities. This diversity is reflected in the broadcaster’s workforce, with the aim of having better representation for minorities in senior decision-making roles, too.