The Government has said it will proceed with plans to privatise Channel 4, the broadcaster said in a statement. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it was “disappointed” with the decision but would “continue to engage” with the Government on the process to “ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain’s creative ecology and national life”.
The Mirror reports that a government source confirmed ministers are expected to pursue a sale of the channel to private owners - its biggest shake-up since it was founded in 1982. The news was confirmed to staff in an e-mail by chief executive Alex Mahon.
Mahon said the channel's "vision" for the next 40 years had been "rooted in continued public ownership", but "ultimately the ownership of C4 is for Government to propose and Parliament to decide."
Channel 4 is publicly owned and non-profit but receives no taxpayer money. Instead it is funded entirely through its commercial activity.
The channel's statement said: “With over 60,000 submissions to the Government’s public consultation, it is disappointing that today’s announcement has been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised.
“Channel 4 has engaged in good faith with the Government throughout the consultation process, demonstrating how it can continue to commission much-loved programmes from the independent sector across the UK that represent and celebrate every aspect of British life as well as increase its contribution to society, while maintaining ownership by the public.
“Recently, Channel 4 presented DCMS with a real alternative to privatisation that would safeguard its future financial stability, allowing it to do significantly more for the British public, the creative industries and the economy, particularly outside London. This is particularly important given that the organisation is only two years into a significant commitment to drive up its impact in the UK’s Nations and Regions.
“Channel 4 remains legally committed to its unique public-service remit. The focus for the organisation will be on how we can ensure we deliver the remit to both our viewers and the British creative economy across the whole of the UK.
“The proposal to privatise Channel 4 will require a lengthy legislative process and political debate. We will of course continue to engage with DCMS, Government and Parliament, and do everything we can to ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain’s creative ecology and national life.”
Those opposed to Channel 4's privatisation include Sir David Attenborough. Last summer he backed a letter warning ministers "to stop short-sighted political and financial attacks" on public service broadcasters. Sir David's letter came hours before the government launched a review of the home of Great British Bake Off, Gogglebox and SAS: Who Dares Wins.
That review warned "this is 2021, not 1982 - and the broadcasting landscape has changed beyond recognition. Increased global competition and changing audience habits pose challenges to linear TV broadcasters, including Channel 4".
Ministers think that government ownership of Channel 4 is “holding it back” and that privatising the broadcaster would “remove its straitjacket”, a Government source has told the PA news agency.
“HMG is expected to pursue a sale of C4 as part of a package of reforms to modernise and sustain the UK’s public service broadcasting sector,” the source said.
“Following a consultation, ministers have decided that, although C4 as a business is currently performing well, government ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly changing and competitive media landscape.
“C4 is a great business with a strong brand built around it being creative, innovative and distinctive but a change of ownership will remove its straitjacket, giving C4 the freedom to innovate and grow so it can flourish and thrive long into the future and support the whole of the UK creative industries.
“Ministers will seek to reinvest the proceeds of the sale. They want to use the cash resulting from the sale to spend on a ‘creative dividend’ – putting money into independent production and levelling up wider creative skills in priority parts of the country.
“C4 will remain a public service broadcaster – just like ITV is a privately owned PSB (public service broadcaster) – and we will ensure it continues to make an important social, economic and cultural contribution to the UK. Importantly, this will include an ongoing commitment to prime time news.”
