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By Paul Sandle
CAMBRIDGE, England, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Channel 4
will be able to access more money to compete with streaming
giants Amazon and Netflix if it comes under
private ownership, a minister said on Wednesday.
Britain's government said in June https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-government-plans-sale-broadcaster-channel-4-2021-06-22
it was planning to sell the publicly owned but commercially
funded broadcaster, launched nearly 39 years ago as an edgy
alternative to the BBC and ITV.
"If Channel 4 wants to grow then at some point soon it will
need cash. Without it, Channel 4 won't have the money to invest
in technology and programming, and it won't be able to compete
with the streaming giants," junior minister John Whittingdale
told the Royal Television Society's Convention.
A consultation on the plan, which has been publicly
criticised by Channel 4 itself, closed on Tuesday. Its chief
executive Alex Mahon said there was no evidence to show that a
privatised Channel 4 would be able to better fulfill its remit.
"There's no data and there's no evidence as yet that Channel
4 would have been more able to sustain that mission, (...) its
delivery of social impact, its support of indies and the
creative community in 10 years time if it was in private hands,"
Mahon said at the convention.
The consultation on privatising Channel 4 was launched by
Oliver Dowden before he was replaced as culture minister by
Nadine Dorries on Wednesday. His speech to the convention was
delivered remotely by Whittingdale.
Channel 4, which broadcast the AIDs drama "It's a Sin" this
year, has a remit to provide challenging and distinctive
programming for audiences under-served by other broadcasters.
Rather than making programmes, it commissions them from
production companies, helping sustain Britain's successful
independent TV sector.
Channel 4 said this month that research by Ernst & Young
showed that removing its unique publisher-broadcaster model
could result in a 2 billion pound ($2.76 billion) reduction in
its contribution to the creative economy over 10 years.
Whittingdale said its public service remit would remain.
"So if we do choose to proceed with a sale, I will make sure
it remains subject to proper public service obligations," he
said, adding that this would cover a commitment to commissioning
programming from independents.
($1 = 0.7243 pound)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Jonathan Oatis and
Alexander Smith)
