Government failed on future of C4

The Government should have waited to consult on the future of Channel 4 until it had set out a vision for public service broadcasting, a report has said.

A report by the House of Lords communications and digital committee published yesterday says the Government did not "take the right approach" when it declared privatisation was its preferred option.

Lord Gilbert, chairman of the committee, said: "It is difficult to reach a conclusive view on the ownership of Channel 4 without understanding the future public service broadcasting landscape."

The report, entitled The Future Of Channel 4, said the debate about the future of the TV broadcaster has been "a binary one" between privatisation and the status quo.

"It should instead start by establishing our ambitions for Channel 4 before considering how best they can be realised," the report said. The committee said both risks and opportunities must be "weighed up".