‘Plenty of evidence’ to show public does not want C4 sell-off
Promise of more roles outside London
CHANNEL 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said there is “plenty of evidence” to show the privatisation of the broadcaster “is not what the public wants”.
It comes after 96 per cent of the 55,737 people and organisations who took part in a Government consultation said they did not support privatisation and the vast majority agreed there would be “an overall negative impact” on audiences.
The Government announced in a White Paper last month it will put Channel 4 up for sale to secure its long-term future, as public ownership is holding the broadcaster back in an extremely competitive market because it has limited ability to borrow or raise capital and make its own programming. However, Channel 4 has refused to accept the Government’s plans for privatisation and unveiled an ambitious counter-proposal to remain under public ownership.
The plan, titled 4: The Next Episode,
Channel 4 said £1bn of investment will be secured by 2030, as a joint venture will bring in an external investor as majority shareholder and allow the broadcaster to borrow capital.
It has made a “levelling up” commitment to double the number of roles that are relocated outside London to 600 and spend half its commissioning budget outside the city.
Chief executive Alex Mahon said Channel 4’s proposal was discussed with the Government, before it decided to press ahead with privatisation, but she is confident it will gain public support.
“We did discuss them in detail with Government and clearly it’s not the choice they made. I think that’s disappointing and a shame for the UK creative industry,” she said.
“There’s plenty of evidence that this (privatisation) is not what the public wants and it’s not what the industry wants.”
CHANNEL 4 has refused to accept the Government’s plans for privatisation and unveiled an ambitious counter-proposal to remain under public ownership.
The Government has said public ownership is holding Channel 4 back in an extremely competitive market and repeatedly raised concerns about its long-term future.
But chief executive Alex Mahon announced yesterday the broadcaster has come up with “an attractive, realistic and sustainable solution”.
Under the plan, called 4: The Next Episode, Channel 4 plans to bring in £1bn of investment by 2030, by setting up a joint venture that will bring in an external investor as a majority shareholder and allow the broadcaster to borrow capital.
It has promised to support the Government’s levelling up agenda by doubling the number of roles that are relocated outside London to 600 (more than half its staff) and spending 50 per cent of its commissioning budget outside the capital.
It has also pledged to invest £100m in training over the next 10 years, to help around 100,000 young people from a range of backgrounds break into creative industries, and “dramatically expand” Channel 4’s Leeds-based digital content production studio, 4Studio.
The Government published
a white paper last month which said privatisation will give Channel 4 “the tools it needs to succeed in the future as a public service broadcaster” and compete with streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, while spending on traditional TV advertising continues to fall.
It said that under public ownership the broadcaster, which has its headquarters in Leeds, has limited ability to borrow or raise capital by issuing shares and its set-up “effectively stops it from making its own content”.
But Ms Mahon warned the Government’s plan will “have a major impact on the television landscape”, as it would abolish the model which ensures Channel 4 buys all its programming from independent production companies and this could see the sector lose around £320m a year.
She also said the white paper does not require Channel 4 to maintain “any presence” in Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow or Manchester and it stated that only 35 per cent of the broadcaster’s commissioning budget should be spent outside London, even though it has already committed to 50 per cent.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Ms Mahon said Channel 4’s counter-proposal was discussed with the Government, before it decided to press ahead with privatisation in April.
“We did discuss them in detail with Government and clearly it’s not the choice they made. I think that’s disappointing and a shame for the UK creative industry,” she said.
However, she is now optimistic it will gain public support, after 96 per cent of the 55,737 people and organisations who took part in a recent Government consultation said they did not think privatisation was necessary.
Government’s plan will have a major impact on the television landscape. Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon.