Treasury officials could sell Channel 4 for £1 billion in a fund raising scheme to take place once Gordon Brown Becomes Prime Minister.
According to a report in
The Times, advisers close to Brown are considering the political and economic arguments in favour of privatisation, even though the Labour party has a manifesto commitment to keeping Channel 4 in public ownership.
It is believed that Brown could bring in a new culture secretary to replace Tessa Jowell in order to make way for a sale in his first 100 days in office.
Earlier this year, a report into Channel 4’s finances by Ofcom said that the broadcaster’s recent strong commercial performance will deteriorate in the near and medium-term (see Bleak Future For Channel 4).
If Channel 4 does go up for sale, interested parties could include RTL and BSkyB.
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