Apr 5, 2022
Channel 4 sale leaves potential buyers in a quandary
The form of the legislation would have direct implications for the sums raised, which government insiders hope will be in excess of £1bn. While Dorries said a private Channel 4 would continue to be a public service broadcaster, amendments could expand those obligations to a point where its commercial value is hobbled. "The sale of Channel 4 is politicians and civil servants thinking they know more about how to run a business than the people who run it," he said. Advertisers fear a private Channel 4 will no longer be motivated to serve hard-to-reach, younger audiences and might corner an unhealthy share of the TV advertising market if it was sold to a domestic rival such as Sky or ITV, the two other big ad sales houses in the UK. ITV and Channel 4 would together account for more than 70 per cent of sales - a combined market share that Phil Smith of ISBA, the trade body for UK advertisers, warned would give it "Undue dominance". Enders Analysis, the media research group, has pointed out that international media groups already in the UK market such as Discovery or Paramount, the owner of Channel 5, could make cost savings from combining operations with Channel 4, as well as finding synergies from using their existing content libraries. Several buyers have told the government that with the media business changing rapidly, it is hard to predict what the calculus will be when bids for Channel 4 are due to be submitted.
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