Despite strong opposition from the British media industry and the company's own authorities, UK ministers will formally start the process of privatizing Channel 4 on Thursday, The Guardian reported.
After Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, published a white paper confirming the process of sale and outlining the terms of deal, interested parties are reportedly beginning to enquire about possible acquisitions. According to The Sunday Times, JP Morgan bankers have begun fielding preliminary offers. A sum as high as £2 billion has been mooted, which doubles the amount initially estimated by the government, primarily because of Channel 4’s position on a high slot on TV guides, the newspaper disclosed.
Interest is likely to come from investors as well as other media companies. As a matter of fact, likely parties include ITV, Comcast (which owns Sky), Paramount (which owns Channel 5), as well as Discovery and French company Vivendi.
However, the privatization of Channel 4 is not well seen by the local industry. In fact, 96% of respondents to the consultation process on the paper expressed their opposition to the proposal. However, the government still is pressing ahead, expressing their certainty that the sale of Channel 4 – which is state-owned and advertising-funded – will better enable the broadcaster to compete with streamers.
In a 2021 report, Ampere Analysis looked at options surrounding the privatization of Channel 4 and concluded that attracting credible buyers willing to pay more than £500 million, without adapting or dropping the current remit, would be a challenge. For the UK to generate more from a sale, such as the £1 billion hoped for by the government, the channel’s remit would need to be relaxed, Ampere said.