C4 to merge into "wider public entity"?

Posted on 16 Jan 2009 at 10:48

Channel 4 could be merged into a "wider entity", according to The Financial Times, which claims to have read a draft the Digital Britain report due to be published later this month.

The report, written by communications minister Lord Stephen Carter, will say that the government rejects the idea the broadcaster should be funded with money from the BBC licence fee, according to the newspaper.

It states that Channel 4 is no longer financially stable, and would not even become so with extra funding from benefiting from a slice of the licence fee, and can therefore no longer provide competition for the BBC in the provision of public service broadcasting.

The Digital Britain report proposes, among other things, that a new broadcaster will be created, responsible for providing news programmes as an alternative to the BBC, the FT said.

This week, Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan poured cold water on speculation the broadcaster might merge with Channel Five, which is owned by European broadcaster RTL Group. He said such a merger would be "mixing oil and water".

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport added: "Ministers have taken no decisions about Channel 4, but remain committed to retaining it in public ownership."

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous News : Software Next >

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.