Today, the UK government’s consultation on the privatisation of Channel 4 closes.
The public have had ten weeks, over the holiday period, to tell the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) why they do, or do not, want the channel to be sold off. What will become of our answers though, is hazy. The consultation says that all “in-scope” responses will be taken into account but that the number of responses won’t count, rather the “careful consideration of the points made in the responses”. Make of that what you will.
The key to understanding the proposed sell-off of Channel 4 is that it should be placed in the context of this government’s dislike of public service broadcasting (PSB), which includes not just the BBC and Channel 4, but ITV, Channel 5, Ulster TV and STV. There is also the question of Boris Johnson’s possible personal animus against Channel 4. There is evidence the prime minister cancelled a number of interviews and a debate with Channel 4 after the then-head of news referred to him as a “known liar” in August 2019.
