Indie producers urge government to reverse Channel 4 privatisation plan

Apr 6, 2022

The UK’s indie community has slammed the government’s plans to press ahead with selling off commercially funded pubcaster Channel 4. Wildflame’s Paul Islwyn Thomas has commented on the topic.

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Read the full article on C21 Media here

Indie Producers Urge the Government to Reverse Channel 4 Privatisation Plans, Wildflame CEO, Paul Islwyn Thomas commented on the topic to C21 Media:

Saying it is “incongruous that the UK government is prepared to run blindly into its decision to privatise C4,” given that it has “robust public service broadcaster values, clarity of purpose and [is] an organisation underpinned by such a well-defined business model.”

He added: “This decision has been taken without proper consultation, without any real understanding of the result this proposed action will have. Has anyone really considered the plethora of consequences that would emerge should the channel be acquired by the wrong buyer?

“Every red-blooded suitor will make the right noises for ‘the deal’ to be struck. But a deal-driven purely by commercial values and sensibilities could irreparably damage one of the major pillars in the UK’s broadcast landscape. A framework could be placed around the ‘deal’ to protect the outcome but it’s one hell of a risk.”

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