Channel 4 to remain publically owned - DCMS

The culture secretary ruled out privatising Channel 4 following a protracted review of its long-term future, but in return wants the state-owned broadcaster to relocate some or all of its operations outside London.

Karen Bradley used a speech in Salford to announce that the broadcaster of The Great British Bake Off will remain publicly owned while ramping up pressure for it to move large parts of its businesses from its existing headquarters.

The decision marks the end of an 18-month ownership review that has strained relations between Channel 4 and the government. Bradley will say the broadcaster is a “precious public asset” that will continue to be “owned by the country”.


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MEDIA on THEGUARDIAN.COM
28-Mar-2017 @ 17:41

"Yawm watchin Channel Fawha from Birmin'ham".
"Eres Jon Snow wif some news"

How the heck does it have 820 employees!?

This includes all of their channels, including things like Box Music and Film4 (which is a production company as well as a channel), so the numbers soon add up.

Channel 4's response: 'Nah'.

pic.twitter.com/XPOTpMEiMQ

— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) March 28, 2017

For some reason this has only been posted as an image on Twitter instead of an actual article on their press office site, which is ironic since Channel 4 should be championing accessibility.

Well.....

https://youtu.be/aWvUJATjJDE?t=110

If this is supposed to be a Brummie accent it's way off the mark.

Good news it'll remain public but relocation has hardly been a success for the BBC and considering the structure of C4 most shows are probably made out of London anyway.

What is frustrating is we used to have a network which had a large presence across the country and that was allowed to self destruct, although I guess in the likes of Maidstone and Bristol independent studios did rise from the ashes.

The only way Channel 4 should contemplate consent to any move is if the costs involved for the broadcaster and its staff in such a move are fully covered by the DCMS. There's no way any relocation should be charged to its current budget and scope.

Do C4 own 124 Horseferry Road or is it leased. If they do own it suspect relocating to smaller premises nowadays would end up being costlier.

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/manifesto2017/Manifesto2017.pdf

Page 35, first block of text:

Without wanting to get into the politics, I think it's a sound proposal. Channel 4 - or rather, what Channel 4 is meant to be - doesn't need such expensive office space in London.