Channel 4 plans drama cuts

In Broadcast, Robin Parker reports that Channel 4's budget cuts will affect most types of programming, including drama.

The £100m savings, introduced because of the downturn in the ad market, include trimming £25m from C4's 2008 programming budget, which now stands at £575m - down from £615m in 2007. C4 also plans a further £25m in savings from areas such as marketing, new business investment, new media and general overheads.

The programming cuts come almost entirely from UK-originated shows and will affect all C4 channels.