“Disappointing And A Shame”: Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon Comes Out Swinging Against Privatization

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Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has issued her most combative response yet to the government’s decision to privatize the broadcaster, calling the move “disappointing and a shame” and implying it will have damaging consequences for the UK TV industry.Mahon has so far been walking a tricky tightrope between co-operating with the UK government and making the case for Channel 4 to remain public but she used a journalist briefing this morning to speak candidly about the negative impacts, repeatedly pointing out that the overwhelming majority (96%) of respondents to the government’s public privatization consultation are against a sale.“We have discussed this in detail with the government and I think [privatization] is disappointing and a shame,” she said. “I’ve laid out numerically why I think the move will have a negative impact but of course this is the government’s choice and now we go ahead.”Unveiling Channel 4’s alternative proposal to privatization, which was presented to the government in February, Mahon also provided figures that the government’s proposed move to allow Channel 4 to produce shows in-house after being sold will lose the UK production sector £320M ($402M) per year.Around £82M ($103M) would be lost outside of London if the network is sold along with thousands of jobs, she added, while the government’s move would also take away Channel 4’s commitment to cinema via Film 4, which has been “important for the UK’s soft power credentials.”The government’s proposals were presented in a landmark Broadcasting White Paper last week, which Mahon said contained some good such as updated prominence legislation and a reform of the broadcaster quota system.“On Top Of Her Brief”In a humiliating parliamentary committee appearance