Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

House of Lords rebukes ministers over Channel 4 sell-off

26/11/2021

House of Lords Digital and Communication Committee was also unhappy at Channel 4s own response to the consultation

By Jenny Priestley

Published: November 26, 2021 Updated: November 29, 2021

House of Lords Digital and Communication Committee was also unhappy at Channel 4's own response to the consultation

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

A House of Lords committee has accused the UK government of setting out its plans to privatise Channel 4 too quickly, and says ministers should have waited on consulting on the broadcaster's future until after setting out a vision for public service broadcasting.

A report published by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee states that the debate over the future of the broadcaster has been a binary one between privatisation or the status quo.

It should instead start by establishing our ambitions for Channel 4 before considering how best they can be realised, it adds.

The committee's report also says risks and opportunities of both privatisation and continued state ownership must be weighed up, while much will depend on how willing the government is to protect Channel 4's public service remit and its contribution to the creative industries as part of any potential sale.

The committee was also unhappy at Channel 4's own response to the consultation, saying it was surprised that in both written and oral evidence when asked to describe any potential benefits of privatisation alongside potential risks, the broadcaster described only risks .

When asked about the potential benefits of privatisation, Channel 4 Corporation's response listed only potential disadvantages. We would have been more reassured to see C4C, as a publicly owned corporation, openly demonstrate that the potential benefits of privatisation had been considered by its board, the report continued.

The report says that privatisation's main benefit would be increased investment in programming, content partnerships and technology through access to capital, enabling Channel 4 to diversify its revenues, enhance its sustainability and be more ambitious internationally. However, privatisation is not the only way in which Channel 4 could access capital, it argues.

The committee recommends that, regardless of ownership, Channel 4's role in supporting small, medium, diverse and regional production companies should be strengthened, while ensuring that the interests of large, established production companies do not take precedence over the channel's sustainability.

Lord Gilbert, chair 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.

We are not convinced by claims that privatisation is an urgent necessity nor by warnings that it would be a catastrophe for viewers and independent producers.

We welcome the government's and Channel 4's sincerity in seeking the strongest future for the brand. However, the board of Channel 4 should be open to all possibilities for achieving this, including privatisation. Likewise, it would be remiss of the government not to consider possible reforms which might make Channel 4 more sustainable without a change of ownership, it added.

The government's upcoming White Paper must justify its decision on Channel 4's ownership in relation to a clear and compelling vision for the future of public service broadcasting.

Channel 4 sell-off delayed due to backlash'

ITV, Michael Grade mulling bids' for Channel 4

data-src=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/themes/tvbeurope/library/images/tvbe-subs.jpg width=729 height=90>
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/house-of-lords-rebukes-ministers-ov...
See more stories from tvb

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

02/07/2025

FCC Approves Sale of Sinclair Stations to Rincon

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved the transfer of licenses for five TV stations from Sinclair to Rincon Broadcasting, which announce...

02/07/2025

TV Tech's Top Stories of 2025

As the media industry faces an uncertain business climate and rapidly changing consumer habits, TV Tech's most popular stories from the first six months of ...

02/07/2025

Average U.S. Home Now Has Two Smart TVs

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New data shows that U.S. homes now own an average of two smart TVs, with Samsung and LG dominating the market but Roku and FireTV continue to g...

02/07/2025

Oaktree Acquires FilmRise

LOS ANGELES Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management have acquired FilmRise, an independent digital streaming content distributor, and merged it with Shout! ...

02/07/2025

ATSC Names Luiz Fausto Vice President of Standards Development

WASHINGTON The Advanced Television Systems Committee named Luiz Fausto vice president of standards development, succeeding ATSC vice president Jerry Whitaker, w...

02/07/2025

Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Education Accessible

Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Ed...

01/07/2025

ITV Celebrates Best Sunday of 2025 with Code of Silence

The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025. The first episode of the new crime dr...

01/07/2025

Romola Garai joins Shaun Evans in ITV thriller BETRAYAL, as filming begins in the North West

ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...

01/07/2025

L3Harris Delivers Missionized Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft

L3Harris Technologies has delivered its second Bombardier Global 6500 missionize...

01/07/2025

L3Harris Sets Date for Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release

MELBOURNE, Fla., July 1, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its second quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, Ju...

01/07/2025

Movicom Selects Clear-Com to Power Communications for Global Live Events

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to 3 Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations, renewing the licenses for Chesapeake...

01/07/2025

Dalet Flex LTS Update Features Improved Content Workflow Tools

Dalet has released a new update to its Dalet Flex media workflow platform, introducing powerful new capabilities to its flagship platform....

01/07/2025

New Global Game' Summit Explores Future of Soccer, Tech and Media

NEWARK, N.J. With the FIFA Club World Cup final rapidly approaching and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup now less than a year away, interest in soccer in th...

01/07/2025

COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo

COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments Laser engraved logo July 1, 2025Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Cr...

01/07/2025

LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League

LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments TEM Constellation HD and BlackmagicURSA Broadcast G2 drive liv...

01/07/2025

Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage

Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments New AI model delivers full-scene p...

01/07/2025

Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design

Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera...

01/07/2025

Sinclair Pays $500,000 to Settle FCC Investigations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...

01/07/2025

LPTV Broadcasters Association to Hold Webinar on Station Sales

DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...

01/07/2025

Netflix to Carry Live Programming from NASA+

NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....

01/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Hires Katie McAuliffe as Policy Advisor

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....

01/07/2025

GFiber Demonstrates Network Slicing to Improve Home Internet Performance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber, the broadband provider formerly known as Google Fiber, has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstr...

01/07/2025

DoubleVerify Debuts Attention Measurement for Social Media

NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to Three Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...

01/07/2025

Magewell Brings NDI into Conferencing Software and More w...

Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...

01/07/2025

Disneys Hercules Brings Mosaic Visuals To Life On Stage W...

Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

Heather Gray Named Vice President and General Manager of WRAL and FOX 50

Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...

01/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Expansion in the U.S.

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...

01/07/2025

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus Video Production

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...

01/07/2025

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...

01/07/2025

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins Fans

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...

01/07/2025

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...

01/07/2025

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of Next Generation eCall functionality

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of...

01/07/2025

Watch: A Line Crossed: Netflix Drops Explosive Trailer for New Series, 'Marked'

Back to All News Watch: A Line Crossed: Netflix Drops Explosive Trailer for New...

01/07/2025

Broadcast Pix Showcases Live Production Tools at ACM 2025 in Boston

Tyngsboro, Mass. - June 30, 2025 - The 2025 ACM Annual Conference at Boston University was an energizing and inspiring gathering of community media professional...

01/07/2025

Teresa Smith Announced as Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment

RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...

01/07/2025

RT is Supporting 26 Arts and Cultural Events across Ireland this July

This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...

01/07/2025

How AI Factories Can Help Relieve Grid Stress

In many parts of the world, including major technology hubs in the U.S., there's a yearslong wait for AI factories to come online, pending the buildout of n...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel 30 June, 2025 Media releases SBS is expanding its international news offeri...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Artemis II Mission Advances with Successful RS-25 Engine Checkout Tests

The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...

30/06/2025

WRAL-WRAZ Raleigh Names Heather Gray as VP and GM

RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....