It is 12 months, almost to the day, since sense prevailed and the government abandoned its reckless plan to privatise Channel 4. The threat to sell the broadcaster after 40 years seemed to be motivated chiefly by political spite, rather than any coherent idea to improve the lot of the UK’s creative industries. Channel 4’s management did well to defend its corner so robustly. A state-owned entity that works with independent producers, and pays its way by funding itself commercially, adds greatly to biodiversity in TV-land. A sale to a foreign buyer (probably) would have been an irretrievable error.
One cannot say, however, that Channel 4 has gone from strength to strength since the big reprieve. The TV advertising market in 2023 probably had its biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis – chief executive, Alex Mahon, referred to “market shock territory” in testimony to MPs in November. After three years of surpluses up to 2022, Channel 4 expects two years of losses. It has cut back on commissioning to extend budgets, adding to wider woes among independent producers, some of whom have complained bitterly about late cancellations.
