Channel 4 privatisation plan ditched by Culture Secretary
Michelle Donelan has written to Rishi Sunak advising him against going ahead with the policy.
The government's plan to privatise Channel 4 appears to have been scrapped, with Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan having written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak advising him against going ahead with the policy.
Donelan's letter was shared on Twitter by The News Agents journalist Lewis Goodall, and sees the politician outline her conclusion that "pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision and there are better ways to secure C4C’s (Channel 4 Corporation) sustainability".
She also said the channel's role supporting the independent production sector "would be very disrupted by a sale at a time when growth and economic stability are our priorities".
The future of the broadcaster – which was created in 1982 and celebrated its 40th anniversary last year – has been up in the air for some time, with Donelan's predecessor Nadine Dorries having announced a decision to take it out of public ownership last year during Boris Johnson's tenure as Prime Minister.
Dorries had said that the move would be the best way of securing the broadcaster's future, claiming that "government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon".
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But Donelan has expressed doubts about the plan since she was appointed as Culture Secretary under Liz Truss, explaining last year that she was re-examining the “business case” behind the decision.
Channel 4 itself had always been critical of the plans, saying at the time of the initial announcement that "it is disappointing that today’s announcement has been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised".
Channel 4 declined to comment on the new reports when contacted by RadioTimes.com.
Read more:
- Russell T Davies says Channel 4 privatisation would "stifle" queer and diverse voices
- Roger Mosey on the BBC licence fee & the privatisation of Channel 4
- Most people don't understand impact Channel 4 privatisation will have, poll finds
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
