Channel 4 to be privatised

Capt'n Midnight

UK Govt owned but self financed Channel 4 is up for sale.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/apr/04/nadine-dorries-to-press-ahead-with-plan-to-privatise-channel-4 - https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60985496

Could the BBC buy it as a way to get ad revenue, is that even allowed ?

Would some of the big streamers buy it for the back catalogue ?

Will it still it still be possible to stream for free, from here ?

Atlantic Dawn

Seems a really high valuation, then again I suppose it's up and running and bringing in revenue. Yes I'd worry about losing All4, I'd imagine the buyer will want it ringfenced for UK users only, that said the ads they have when viewing this in Ireland are targetted to Irish users so likely bringing in a nice chunk of additional money whereby costs to provide it to us are negligable seeing as it's up and running for UK users.

icdg

I’ve edited the thread title, they can put whatever valuation they like but the price to be paid will be decided by the market (or maybe the sale will be stopped if they’re determined to get a particular price and nobody’s willing to pay it).

Shouldn’t effect ROI availability one iota, even the merger of operations between the “Channel 5” channels, which have never been available in Ireland, and the “Viacom” channels which are, hasn’t affected the availability of the likes of MTV, Comedy Central, or Nickelodeon here. In event, as the Channel 4 CEO said in his email to staff (leaked to the press) yesterday, legislation to convert Channel 4 back into a company, to facilitate its sale, could take 18 months alone and won’t be exactly top of the U.K. governments priorities. There could be a change of government by the time an actual sale happens and it might never proceed.

Delta2113

"Shouldn’t effect ROI availability one iota" - only time will tell and it should be around for a few years but if a private company get's it and they figure out they can make more money from the Irish market through streaming - who know's what might happen.

icdg

Absolutely, but that could just as easily happen under the Channel 4 Television Corporation as it could a private company. Streaming will probably lead to the demise of most linear tv other than sports over the next decade or so. The good news on the Channel 4 front is that All4 is already available here and they don’t seem to have any plans to change that in the short term. Britbox U.K. is probably not going to survive any more than another year or two before ITV roll it into their own streaming service - it’s not been the success that was hoped for in the domestic market.

The idea that privatisation, simply the change of ownership on its own will inevitably lead to withdrawal of services from Ireland is nonsense. The vast majority of large broadcasters operating in the U.K. do make their UK services available here in one form or another. Sky, Paramount (at least the “Viacom” side), Discovery, BT Sport, UKTV, I could go on and on with that list. The two major that don’t, ITV and the “Channel 5” side of Paramount, do so for two completely different reasons. In ITV’s case it’s because of their deal with VMTV effectively hamstrings them from competing here (watch what happens when that very long deal finally expires though) and Channel 5 never made their channels available here and picked a fight with RTE over rights to Home and Away early on that may have seemed important at the time but in the long term didn’t really do them any good.

dublinman1990

Channel 4 is no longer being privatised by the British Government after all. The references to sell off the broadcaster to allow it to compete with streaming services like Netflix will be dropped from the forthcoming media bill proposals being put forward by the British Government very soon.

https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/channel-4-privatisation-set-to-be-dropped

Separately; Channel 4 is set to be rebranded next spring as part of it's 40th anniversary celebrations which occurred earlier this week. It plans to replace the name All4 from it's catch up service and have it renamed to Channel 4.

You heard it right here folks. Channel 4 will be used as a name for both it's linear channel and Streaming service from next spring. Very confusing isn't it?

Leaked letter from the current Culture Secretary to the PM recommending that the privatisation of Ch 4 should not go ahead.

https://rxtvinfo.com/2023/channel-4-future-pm-advised-against-privatisation/

gmisk

Should never have been up for discussion. It doesn't take any of the license fee...so talk about good value...

<Mod deleted>.

https://youtu.be/Fqf5rw5j3-g

https://youtu.be/Ve63pA573ZA

Acosta

Glad it's being shelved <mod deleted>

icdg

I’ve had to remove some personalised comments about a named individual who isn’t here to defend themselves.

dublinman1990

I just read the news about it from Lewis Goodall on Twitter. I am glad to read that Channel 4 is not being sold off after all. It was a really stupid decision to see this broadcaster potentially go through the horrors of privatisation in the UK.

Nadine Dorries has, without surprise to everyone here, made her comments about it on Twitter as well. She is quite obviously disappointed but possibly fuming in secret that her rock and cradle while she was in the job of Culture Secretary is not going to be accomplished after all.

https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1610611199254695936

icdg

Just to be clear, can we have this discussion before on the policy without making it personal about the politician concerned. If that cannot be done I will have to close the thread. I haven’t edited Dublinman1990s post because he’s only re-reporting what the person concerned is saying on Twitter.

To be clear one more time. This is a thread about Channel 4, not Nadine Dorries. If we can’t have one without the other the thread gets closed.

Now official. Statement from the UK government:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/channel-4-to-remain-publicly-owned-with-reforms-to-boost-its-sustainability-and-commercial-freedom

Statement from Channel 4:

https://www.channel4.com/press/news/statement-channel-4-response-decision-and-statement-government