Latest in Privatization

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has praised the “smart and sensible” UK Culture Secretary for leading the charge against privatization and revealed plans to allow the network to produce shows in-house are the brainchild of the government. Speaking to Deadline just hours after Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives…

Channel 4 privatization is off the table. UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, according to a leaked letter published by The News Agents journalist Lewis Goodall on Twitter, which says “pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision and there are…

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has said there “hasn’t been much change” in terms of the biggest formats in the UK over the past eight-to-nine years. Delivering the UK keynote at RTS London, she pushed back on criticism that Channel 4 has failed to commission a big format for several years since The Great British Bake Off…

The BBC and Channel 4 may fear the worst as the anti-Public Service Broadcasting agenda led by Boris Johnson’s administration looks set to continue under a Liz Truss premiership, with all eyes trained on whether Nadine Dorries remains Culture Secretary. As expected, Truss comfortably won the race to be the next Conserv…

UK TV industry ire has turned towards Prime Ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak over the sale of Channel 4, with broadcasting union Bectu slamming Sunak’s proposal to push on with privatization. Sunak, one of two left in the race to succeed Boris Johnson, confirmed yesterday that he will not reverse the decision made by…

A former Conservative government minister and Boris Johnson supporter has slammed the sale of Channel 4 as an “unnecessary and provocative attempt to address a political non-issue,” as the Prime Minister gets ready to face a no confidence vote in his leadership tonight. Jesse Norman, who used to be a senior Treasury…

Some of the UK’s biggest stars and creators issued passionate defences of Channel 4 at tonight’s BAFTA TV Awards in the wake of the UK government’s decision to privatize it. Big names, from 12 Years A Slave creator Steve McQueen to Studio Lambert founder Stephen Lambert and comedy presenter Mo Gilligan, used their…

A privatized Channel 4 could lose the UK economy up to £3BN ($3.8BN) over the next decade and support 4,000 fewer jobs, according to the It’s a Sin network's alternative privatization proposal, unveiled to journalists today. Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon this morning publicly sent out and discussed the network's failed 4: T…

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has issued her most combative response yet to the government’s decision to privatize the broadcaster, calling the move “disappointing and a shame” and implying it will have damaging consequences for the UK TV industry. Mahon has so far been walking a tricky tightrope between co-operating with…

Interested parties have already started lining up to enquire about buying UK broadcaster Channel 4, following this week's pull on the first lever of the process of sale by the British Government. After UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries published the policy document 'White Paper' outlining the terms of sale, JP…

ITV, Comcast, Discovery and Paramount have been tipped as potential Channel 4 buyers, along with outside bets such as European giant Vivendi, as the UK government’s two-year-long process to privatize and sell the broadcaster begins. Sources indicated each potential bidder will be scrutinizing the process in minute…