Now that ministers have abandoned privatisation, what next? How about reforms that allow the channel to grow, compete and flourish
- Dorothy Byrne is a former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4
One of the most deranged Tory plans of 2022 has been abandoned: the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport confirmed on Thursday that Channel 4 will not be privatised.
It was always a bonkers idea. Channel 4 is owned by the British people, doesn’t cost us a penny and is a major creative force in the nation. It’s a commercial success, has a massively popular free streaming service, runs one hour of the brilliant Channel 4 News in prime time each night, and has just won Bafta awards for programmes as diverse as a drama about a Liverpool care home and Gogglebox. In a country in which key institutions such as the NHS are failing and flailing, it’s proof we are not utterly broken.
Dorothy Byrne is president of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, and former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4
