Chat show king Graham Norton sustained a €909,406 cut in his TV pay last year to £2.236 million (€2.57 million), new accounts show.
ITV subsidiary, So Television sells The Graham Norton Show to the BBC and to TV stations across the world including Virgin Media here.
Now, new accounts filed by So Television Ltd to Companies House in the UK show that Norton’s pay from the firm decreased by £788,530 (€909,406) from £3.025 million in 2021 to £2.236 million last year.
The £788,530 cut in pay last year followed an increase of £956,638 to Norton’s pay in 2021.
Norton’s pay - made up of presenter fees, production fees and royalties - plummeted last year after So Television’s revenues and profits took a hit.
So Television relies on The Graham Norton Show for the bulk of its revenues and company revenues in 2022 decreased by £945,427 from £12.7 million to £11.75 million.
The directors state that revenues decreased “largely due to a decrease in distribution channels”.
The accounts show that UK revenues increased by £1 million from £9.389 million to £10.626 million while ‘rest of world’ revenues decreased by 66 per cent from £3.3 million to £1.29 million.
The firm's revenues decreasing despite producing two more hours of TV in 2022 - 31 compared to 29 in 2021 “due to the commissioning of new shows in 2022".
The directors state “The Graham Norton Show continues to be popular in the UK and internationally.”
The company’s pre-tax profits decreased by 44 per cent to £1.59 million.
Norton’s TV fees are the entertainer’s main income stream.
However, Norton - who celebrated his 60th birthday in April - receives separate fees for his Saturday and Sunday morning shows on Virgin Radio UK.
In December 2020, Norton left BBC Radio 2 after 10 years to present the shows.
Norton’s novels are also bestsellers and his critically acclaimed works of fiction, Holding, Home Stretch, A Keeper, Forever Home and The Swimmer have generated millions in sales in Ireland and the UK since 2016 according to Nielsen Book, though the author receives only a small fraction of the sales figure in royalties.
Norton’s show continues to be the 'go-to’ show for Hollywood 'A listers' and singers promoting their movies and albums in the UK and Europe though the current Hollywood actors’ strike has greatly reduced the choice of guests for the current season.
During the period under financial review, guests to appear on the show included Tom Hanks, Kate Winslet Daniel Craig, Bono, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Mescal.
Norton and producer of the Graham Norton show, Graham Stuart sold So Television to ITV in 2012 with ITV agreeing to pay the two £10 million up front while a further £7 million was payable depending on its performance up to July 2016.
Born in Dublin and raised in Bandon, Co Cork, Norton first shot to prominence in 1996 for his part of Father Noel Furlong in 'Father Ted' before he moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat show.
Norton established So Television Ltd with Graham Stuart in 2000.
Numbers employed by So Television last year increased to 25 and staff costs remained at £2 million.
Accumulated profits at So Television in December 2022 totalled £24.83 million.
The directors state that “the external environment is expected to remain uncertain and competitive in 2023, but the directors remain confident that the company is well placed with the broadcasters and commercial partners to exploit opportunities that become available.”
