As the calls to privatise Channel 4 grow louder, the broadcaster’s chief executive David Abraham has made a passionate case against a possible sell-off.
Speaking at an Enders Analysis event on Tuesday, Abraham said that despite Government concerns about Channel 4’s future, he does not see an “existential threat” on the horizon – and that privatisation is merely “a solution in search of a problem”.
“Not many CEOs have their employment objectives enshrined in statute, but I do. The 1981 Broadcasting Act, upgraded several times since, sets the terms of my contract. It is not a burden,” Abrahams said.
“On the contrary, I believe in it because it delivers public value at no direct cost to the taxpayer. If Parliament votes to change our ownership, that’s their prerogative. But until such time, we intend to keep delivering the will of Parliament.”
In the wake of competition from the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, Abraham said that Channel 4 remains very much part of the “culture and zeitgeist” of the UK – and warned that privatisation would severely impact its remit to produce “programmes of great value” to the British public.
“But great content also needs to be protected by first party data of the highest quality,” Abraham said, as he forecast Channel 4’s registered viewer database to grow from 13.5 million to 15 million over the next year.
“Today, we are, as a business, now broadly neutral between whether a viewer watches via channels or online. We are trading Analogue Pounds for Digital Pounds. Which is clearly a very different story to what’s happening in print and online journalism.”
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Citing predecessors Michael Grade and Luke Johnson, who have both defended Channel 4 from disruption in the past but recently spoken out in favour of selling, Abraham said he does “not share their pessimism”.
“I am by no means complacent but I simply do not see an existential threat on the horizon that we can’t identify and respond innovatively to – it’s what we are good at,” he said.
Concluding his speech, Abrahams said Channel 4 has done enough over the last five years – both in building a powerful proprietary platform and successful commercial partnerships – to leave it “well-placed” for the future – “far from needing the assistance of a private owner.”
“If Channel 4 did not exist in its current form, a Government that cares about innovation and the creative industries would be looking to invent it.”
