The United Kingdom Culture Secretary of State, Nadine Dorries, announced that the government is continuing ahead with its decision to privatize the British free-to-air public-service television network Channel 4, after 40 years of public ownership.
Dorries said the privatization would help the public-service broadcaster compete against the giants and likes of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
“Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life, and I want that to remain the case. I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon,” she tweeted.
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. 3/3
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) April 4, 2022
Dorries further added that “a change of ownership will give Channel 4 the tools and freedom to flourish and thrive as a public service broadcaster long into the future.”
The development came after a series of clashes between the Torry Government and Channel 4 ahead of the 2019 election. According to The Guardian report, the channel will reportedly be sold off for at least £1 billion ($1.3 billion), setting it as the biggest privatization in nine years — after the Royal Mail went private.
Without disclosing the deal amount, Dorries told her Twitter followers that the proceeds of the sale will be reinvested into “leveling up the creative sector, putting money into independent production and creative skills in priority parts of the country - delivering a creative dividend for all.”
