Channel 4 Set To Be Privatized By The UK Government

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://deadline.com/2022/04/channel-4-privatized-1234994248/

The UK government is pushing ahead with plans to privatize Channel 4.

According to sources, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon sent an email to staff this afternoon saying that the network has been informed by the government that it will proceed with the proposal made last year.

Channel 4 has proposed a vision for privatization and the sale will be pursued up to around £1B ($1.3B), according to The Times.

The suggestion was first made last year by former UK culture secretary John Whittingdale and was taken up by incumbent Nadine Dorries, although the decision was delayed on at least two occasions.

 

[Mikey Radio]

Wow, actually kind of a big deal.

 

[installLSC]

So does Channel 4 produce any of its own programming these days, or is it still a "publisher-broadcaster" as its Wiki article puts it? If it still doesn't I'm very surprised at its selling price. And what happens to Film4?

 

[Miss Tuned]

So does Channel 4 produce any of its own programming these days, or is it still a "publisher-broadcaster" as its Wiki article puts it? If it still doesn't I'm very surprised at its selling price. And what happens to Film4?

Channel 4 is, by law, a publisher-broadcaster. It doesn't even produce its own news, that is contracted out to another broadcaster.

The privatization of Channel 4 is a political move. Its output is generally seen as "liberal" and it has been critical of the Johnson government in the past, including replacing Johnson himself with a melting block of ice when he refused to appear (with all the other political party leaders) at a TV debate on climate change.

The current UK government wants critical broadcasters off the air, hence the other prong of their attack, the potential ending of the BBC license fee. Whatever your views on their conservative politics, they are inherently illiberal and authoritarian in their attitude towards free and open media and debate. They are also attempting to increase control over the internet (under the guise of "protecting kids" because reasonable people can't argue with that) but the technical and legal solutions they are trying to implement amount to a firewall.

The Deadline article was poor and didn't go into any of the reasons behind the Channel 4 privatization. For an alternative viewpoint, try this article:

Nadine Dorries presses ahead with plan to privatise Channel 4

Ministers hope to raise £1bn from sell-off ending broadcaster’s 40 years in public ownership

www.theguardian.com

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/uk-broadcasting-white-paper-regulation-streamers-1235242856/

Here is more

Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday will lay out plans to update decades-old regulations and allow broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to “compete fairly” with their competitors (namely the likes of Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video) and support the local production sector. The changes will be set out in a “Broadcasting White Paper,” for which a preview was shared with media on Wednesday evening, local time.

“U.K. public service broadcasters will no longer be subject to a complicated set of ‘purposes’ and ‘objectives’ from laws made in 2003,” reads a statement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. “Their remit will be overhauled and simplified, with a new definition of what it means to be a PSB [public-service broadcaster] and a focus on creating distinctive shows which reflect British culture, support domestic film and TV production, and provide impartial and accurate news.”