The UK ad industry is lining up against the Government’s mad, mean-minded plan to sell off broadcaster Channel 4 with Campaign (subscription required) orchestrating an open letter against the plan, claiming C4 “plays a key role in offering diverse programming and ensuring media plurality for viewers and advertisers alike.”
Furthermore it is on track to spend 50% of its content budget – money provided by advertising – in the nations and regions outside London, contributing to so-called “levelling up,” a key part of PM Boris Johnson’s agenda.
C4 also won brownie points at the weekend by showing Brit tennis player Emma Raducanu’s historic victory in the US Open, the first qualifier to do so.
Flogging C4 would raise relative peanuts given the UK’s Covid-19 induced debts which run into billions (although C4’s value has probably increased recently with a better financial performance and several useful initiatives.)
The Government really should have better things to do.
