The Government is set to proceed with plans to privatise Channel 4.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a tweet that she wanted the broadcaster to remain a "cherished place in British life", but felt that Government ownership was "holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon". A statement by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) said it had made the decision to allow the channel to "thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape".
Ms Dorries added: "I will seek to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into levelling up the creative sector, putting money into independent production and creative skills in priority parts of the country - delivering a creative dividend for all."
READ MORE: Channel 4 to be privatised after 40 years of public ownership
The Government has also argued that a sale could allow the channel, which has limited ability to borrow money or raise private sector capital to invest in new platforms and products and cannot own and sell its own content, to establish its own production house and generate its own intellectual property.
How is Channel 4 funded?
Channel 4, which was founded in 1982 to deliver to under-served audiences, is currently owned by the Government. It receives its funding from advertising, not from the taxpayer.
What does privatisation mean?
The act of privatisation means transferring (a business, industry, or service) from public to private ownership and control.
Ministers launched a public consultation into a potential change in ownership of the channel last July and Ms Dorries has been working through 60,000 responses to the consultation. The Government informed the broadcaster of the decision to go ahead with the sale on Monday. It comes after years of clashes between the two sides.
Bids for the broadcaster are expected to come in next year with a view to complete the sale in early 2024, ahead of the next general election expected at the latest in May that year, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Channel 4 petition
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it was "disappointed" with the decision, but would "continue to engage" with the Government on the process to "ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life".
The channel explained that it presented the Government with an alternative to privatisation that would "safeguard its future financial stability" and allow it to do more for the public, creative industries and the economy. The broadcaster said that it will continue to engage with the Government during the legislative process and plans to do everything it can to "ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life".
The Thick Of It creator Armando Iannucci tweeted: "They asked for 'a debate'; 90% of submissions in that debate said it was a bad idea. But still, they go ahead. Why do they want to make the UK's great TV industry worse? Why? It makes no business, economic or even patriotic sense."
The writer of It's A Sin, Russell T Davies, has previously said privatising Channel 4 would be a "great crime" that would result in programmes like his hit series not being made.
Following the news, several petitions have been launched. One on change.org has received nearly 40,000 signatures, while another on 38 degrees has over 150,000 signatures.
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