C4 'paid Duncan £1.4m for final months'

Channel 4 reportedly paid former chief executive Andy Duncan nearly £1.5 million for his final 11 months in charge at the broadcaster, it has emerged.

According to The Guardian, Duncan's payment was made up of £510,000 in salary covering the 11 months to the end of November 2009, along with a full year's salary of £580,000 in lieu of notice because he was on a one-year rolling contract.

He also received a £255,000 payment from a two-year incentive scheme covering July 2007 and July 2009, with the remaining amount made up of benefits and pension payments.

The full makeup of Duncan's final pay off will be revealed when Channel 4 publishes its 2009 accounts report in May.

After joining Channel 4 in 2004, Duncan won praise for changing E4 and Film4 from subscription channels to free-to-air, along with launching digital channel More4.

However, he agreed a departure timetable with former Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson last summer after failing to secure more financial assistance for the broadcaster from the government or BBC.

Channel 4 will now be run by new chairman Lord Burns and former UKTV boss David Abraham, who will officially replace Duncan as chief executive on May 4.