THE chief executive of Channel 4, Mr Michael Grade, has agreed to pay more than £100,000 to be released from his five year contract and will leave the TV station later this year, it was announced yesterday.
Mr Grade was planning to leave the television industry to "pursue other business interests", the channel said but gave no further details.
Mr Grade, who took up his post in 1988 after being BBC TV's director of programmes, is not expected to part company with Channel 4 in the next couple of months but should have left by the end of July, sources said.
His name has already been linked in press reports to the post of chief executive of football's Premier League, which is set to become vacant at the end of this season when Rick Parry leaves to join Liverpool Football Club.