Channel 4 Privatization: UK TV Producers In Last Ditch Attempt To Reverse Plans As Country Prepares For New Prime Minister On Monday

deadline.com:

UK TV producers have made a last gasp attempt to stop the next Prime Minister privatizing Channel 4 as the country prepares for Monday’s big announcement, but the noises coming from Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s camps are not good.More than 750 indies including major groups such as All3Media and Banijay signed an open  letter organized by UK trade body Pact urging either Truss or Sunak to “reconsider plans” that would have a “devastating impact not only on production companies, but also on the country’s levelling up efforts.” “Levelling up” refers to current Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s drive to level the playing field between metropolitan areas like London and other regions.

Scroll down for the full letter.The letter flagged research that found privatizing Channel 4 would lose the nation’s indie film and TV sector £4.2B ($4.9B) across a decade as the It’s a Sin network would no longer be prevented from producing shows in-house, which makes up part of its current remit.Production companies outside London would suffer, it added, as quotas for making shows outside the capital would be “substantially lowered.”“In the current economic climate of high inflation, the rising cost of living, widespread strike action and public services trying to rebuild from the pandemic, now is the time to focus on more pressing challenges than the unpopular privatisation of a beloved broadcaster,” said the letter, pointing to recent polling finding the sale of Channel 4 is bottom of Conservative voters’ priority lists.“We recognise that Channel 4 is not perfect, just like every other organisation.

However, taking forward privatisation plans in their current form would damage a thriving independent sector, deter voters, and endanger [former UK