In April this year, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced plans to privatise Channel 4. If you are unfamiliar with Channel 4, it’s a British television broadcaster founded in 1982 that is currently government-owned.
This is how the government explains why a broadcaster with such a long-standing reputation in the UK, producing many well-known programmes, should be privatised.
An important point that critical political economy makes about media content is that differences in the organisational structure and funding of the media can have a different impact on media content, as reflected in the range and nature of the content produced by the media. Based on this theory, we can recognise that the privatisation of Channel 4 will also impact the channel’s content.
The current Channel 4, although publicly owned, is commercially funded, and the taxpayer does not pay for the broadcaster, which is unique in the UK. The broadcaster itself is separate from the companies that produce the programmes. Channel 4 commissions independent production companies within the UK to produce the programmes, and the channel’s commercial advertising revenue goes directly to programme production.
The situation will change following the privatisation of Channel 4. The ownership of Channel 4 will be vested in a commercial company, and the production of programmes will be directly linked to the channel. The entire company will aim to generate revenue and reward shareholders. It will continue to generate profits to obtain more outstanding capital to compete with existing streaming companies.
Such changes will also affect the changes in media content. The diversity of the programme will be impaired. The communal nature of the channel has led Channel 4 to think more about social issues when selecting material for the programmes, such as focusing on people with disabilities. Privatised broadcasters, on the other hand, consider the same issues from a commercial point of view and choose topics that are more likely to attract advertisers’ money. The attendant benefit of a commercial company taking over the operation of the channel will help Channel 4 to internationalise. To cater for a larger market, Channel 4’s media content will become more global, catering for all cultural habits.
The channel’s privatisation will also impact ace programmes like The Great British Bake Off(Bake Off).
The capital injection will give the Bake Off more money, and more celebrities and famous figures may be invited to participate, making it more watchable. But this could take away from the classic English village fête baking style that Bake Off is trying to create. After all, the privatised channel will have a new viewing audience, and not everyone will love the style of programming of the past. At the same time, it is impossible to determine whether Bake Off will work with certain kitchen or food brands for greater profit. Specified brands of ingredients and machines may appear in it, which may affect the contestants’ performance. On the upside, the format of Bake Off will probably be more watchable, with more highlights than ever before, as a commercial broadcaster won’t want a bland, ordinary season with no storytelling.