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<p>The Government set out its plans to deliver a new golden age of British TV and
to and to help the nation’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) thrive in a White Paper,
published on 28 April 2022.</p><p>Channel 4 is a major pillar of these plans to safeguard
the future of public service broadcasting. Following an extensive consultation, the
Secretary of State has come to the conclusion that, in today’s intensely competitive
broadcast economy, public ownership is holding Channel 4 back.</p><p>Channel 4 is
and will remain a free-to-air PSB, just like ITV, Channel 5 and STV which are privately-owned
and hugely successful. But the government will remove the restriction which effectively
prohibits Channel 4 from producing and selling its own content so it can diversify
its revenue streams and improve its long-term sustainability.</p><p>Whoever buys the
broadcaster will inherit equivalent obligations to what it is subject to now as a
Public Service Broadcaster - a requirement to support regional production outside
London and England, commission a minimum volume of shows from independent producers,
and to provide news as well as the original, innovative and risk-taking content it
is known and loved for.</p><p>The Government will look to use some of the proceeds
from the sale of Channel 4 to deliver a new creative dividend for the sector.</p><p>The
Government will bring forward legislation to enable a change of ownership of Channel
4 through the Media Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech.</p>
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