The Culture Secretary has confirmed that Channel 4 will remain publicly owned, but will reform to boost its sustainability and commercial freedom.
The official line follows yesterday’s leaked recommendations from Michelle Donelan to the Prime Minister.
The government said it had agreed reforms to help the broadcaster grow and compete “in the age of streaming giants.”
As part of the deal, Channel 4 will commit to double its planned number of roles outside of the capital and double its investment in skills.
That will mean employing 600 people outside of London from 2025, this will include its national HQ in Leeds, as well as Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol “and potentially elsewhere.”
The reforms will come via a Media Bill which will eventually allow Channel 4 to make and own some of its own content, along with a statutory duty on its board members to protect the broadcaster’s long-term financial sustainability.
“Channel 4 is a British success story and a linchpin of our booming creative industries. After reviewing the business case and engaging with the relevant sectors I have decided that Channel 4 should not be sold,” said Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Michelle Donelan.
“This announcement will bring huge opportunities across the UK with Channel 4’s commitment to double their skills investment to £10 million and double the number of jobs outside of London. The package will also safeguard the future of our world leading independent production sector. We will work closely with them to add new protections such as increasing the amount of content C4C must commission from independent producers.”
Current legislation means Channel 4 is more limited than other public service broadcasters in its ability to make and own its own material. This was intended to develop the UK’s independent production sector – which is now worth £3bn.
The government said a “relaxation” of this restriction would mean the broadcaster wasn’t so reliant on advertising revenue.
It stated that it would be working with independent production companies to ensure that their sector is also safeguarded.
Today Pact said while it welcomed the government’s decision not to move forward with the sale, they were “disappointed” about the change to its publisher-broadcast status:
“Whilst it is clearly the right decision by the Government to reverse the privatisation of Channel 4, the decision to allow Channel 4 to produce its own in-house programming has the potential to achieve the same damaging outcome if there are not effective protections put in place,” stated Jane Muirhead, Pact Chair.
“Pact will be meeting with Government and working closely with them to ensure that the right safeguards are established to protect the UK’s successful world-class indie sector.”
