Johnson To Name New Channel 4 Chief By End Of July
Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson is hoping to announce the appointment of a new chief executive to replace the outgoing Mark Thompson by the end of July at the latest.
Insiders at the publicly-owned broadcaster reportedly believe an appointment could be announced much earlier following news that a team of head-hunters is due to be appointed by the end of this week.
However, a spokesman for Channel 4 confirmed that no candidates have yet been approached, despite the widespread expectation that Thompson would leave the broadcaster to replace Greg Dyke as the next director general of the BBC (see BBC Steps Up Pressure To Get Thompson On Board).
He said: “We are not hanging around to do anything in a terrifically formal fashion. A head-hunter will be engaged, we will draw up a shortlist and the board will make a decision. I don’t expect a long drawn-out process.”
Johnson, an entrepreneur who has been in the post for only a few months, emphasised that the focus would be on finding a candidate that was right for the job, given the challenges facing the broadcaster as it enters the highly competitive multi-channel environment.
He told the Guardian: “They have to understand what Channel 4 is about. They have to know the media industry well and clearly have to a serious proven commercial sense. We are hopeful that we will make an announcement by the end of July.”
The paper claims that Gill Carrick at head-hunters Whitehead Mann GKR will draw up a shortlist of possible candidates. Carrick has been heavily involved in other senior appointments at Channel 4, including that of Thompson two years ago (see Thompson Takes The Helm At Channel 4).
Dawn Airey, managing director of Sky Networks, has emerged as the front runner to take over from Thompson as chief executive. However, BBC director of television Jana Bennett and Channel 4 director of television Kevin Lygo are also being mooted as possible replacements, along with former BBC governor Heather Rabbatts and ex-Warner Music boss Roger Ames.
Analysis of the latest viewing figures from BARB show that Channel 4 has been performing well recently, with its audience share inching-up by 0.4% points year on year during April to 9.5% as the last series of hit American sitcom Friends continued to attract large audiences (see Digital Television Round-Up – April 2004).
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.co.uk
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