C4 chairman defends executive pay levels

Channel 4 chairman Sir Terry Burns has defended the salary levels of the broadcaster's top executives after it emerged that payments totalled almost £4m last year.

In its 2009 financial results statement, Channel 4 revealed that it paid £3.851m in salaries, bonuses and benefits to 14 executive and non-executive board members.

The amount, which included a £731,000 payment to former chief executive Andy Duncan, was up from £3.418m in 2008.

Speaking about the executive pay levels, Burns told The Guardian that it is important for the broadcaster to "stick to contractual arrangements".

Burns said that Channel 4 is a "business that has to compete for talent", but he also accepted that broadcasters are generally too "top heavy".

He further suggested that it would be unlikely that executive pay would reach such high levels in future as the broadcast industry continues to struggle.

"I think the marketplace has changed since those salaries and arrangements were put in place," he said.

"They must go back two or three years."

In 2008, Channel 4 executives agreed to a reduction in their remuneration as the economic downturn started to bite, including Duncan waiving a £450,000 loyalty bonus.

Kevin Lygo, Channel 4's outgoing director of television and content, also saw his total pay packet drop from £1.136m in 2008 to £785,000 last year.

Duncan left Channel 4 in November 2009, with his closing remuneration package standing at just under £1.5m, including £731,000 of pay in lieu of notice, £514,000 in salary and £336,000 in fees, benefits and bonuses.

New Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham is being paid a basic salary of £490,000 but a bonus scheme could take his total pay to £735,000.

Also today, Channel 4 reported a modest profit of £300,000 last year amid what it described as the "worst advertising downturn in its 28-year history".