UK’s Ch4 up for sale?
Chris Forrester ©RapidTVNews
| 15-12-2008
There are widespread reports in the British press that the UK government is looking to somehow privatise Channel 4, which is currently publicly owned.
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The reports of a privatisation are not themselves new, but the current
gossip is that government might raise up to £500m ($750m) – or more –
from a sale. RTL is just one of the names in the frame.
Channel 4 doesn’t get a penny from either the government or licence fee
payers. It depends almost entirely on advertising for its income, and
the past weeks have seen assorted suggestions made by regulators and
other interested parties on how Channel 4’s funding gap might be
managed.
We have already reported that Ofcom is keen on hiving off some of the
BBC’s licence fee income to support Channel 4’s public broadcasting
obligations. Another proposal last week saw a suggestion that Channel 4
merge with BBC Worldwide, and thus guarantee C4 an income stream over
and above its advertising revenues.
The latest suggestion has reports of RTL Group, Europe’s biggest
commercial broadcaster, and the owner of 43 commercial TV channels and
networks in 10 European countries, somehow involved. RTL already owns
the UK’s Channel 5. According to reports RTL has instructed bankers JP
Morgan to investigate a bid.
© Rapid TV News 2008
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