Speculation mounts that government may attempt Channel 4 sale
Speculation that the government may move to sell off Channel 4 in a bid to reduce the country’s debt pile has reached fever pitch after it refused to rule out such a move, stating only that there are no "current" plans to pursue a sale.
This leaves the door open to a later sell-off of the broadcaster, which could net the exchequer around £1bn, although ministers are keeping their powder dry until the outcome of a summer review of public sector broadcasting by Ofcom.
In a statement Lady Neville-Rolfe, a junior minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “There are no plans currently to remove the public-service conditions imposed on Channel 4 or to privatise it.” Instead it would wait until the outcome of the review before deciding if ‘any changes are needed’.
Plans were drawn up by the Conservatives last year to sell off the station following Richard Desmond’s sale of Channel 5 to Viacom for £450m last year, but these were blocked by the then business secretary Vince Cable and his Lib Dem colleagues.