100 signatures reached
To: John Whittingdale MP
STOP PRIVATISATION OF CHANNEL 4
Please, for everything original, creative, brilliant and British, DO NOT sell Channel 4 to profit-led corporates.
Why is this important?
Did you know that the BBC is not the only great British broadcasting institution to be under threat?
If you hadn't heard already, Channel 4, our world-leading creative hub is also on the verge of disappearing in to the great corporate black hole.
HM Treasury's desire to make a 'fast buck' out of Channel 4 for Chancellor George Osborne is out of control and needs to be stopped.
Firstly, I didn't used to do these sorts of things because I never heard enough stories connected to 'petition activism' success to feel it was worth it (I know now, I'm wrong on this).
I'm at a stage where I don't know where else to turn and I need your help.
I believe in the British public and I'm hoping you'll believe in this petition too so as to, not just kick-start a debate in parliament about the future of Channel 4, but to once again dispel my previous critical view that petitions can only do 'so much'.
Here are a few things that, I hope, will help you understand why I've decided to start this petition:
- Channel 4 makes most of its money out of advertising, but it DOES NOT make a profit. Instead, it outsources and plunges that cash back into high-quality programmes produced by often small 'indie' production houses across Britain.
- What's more, rules govern the channel that make sure a certain proportion of programmes MUST be made from outside of London, leading to the amazing success story that is the U.K.'s production sector.
- Risk taking. There would be LESS as shareholders wouldn't want to take a risk on programmes that don't make them money straight away.
- This includes the important role of holding high-powered individuals/corporations/governments to account. Also, experimental comedy (see Adam & Joe) and high-quality breaking news (see John Snow & team) would suffer as programming is gradually geared towards formulaic shows based entirely on ratings.
- Think of the risks taken on the Paralympic games and the effort behind making it a success or how Steve McQueen became the first black director to win an Oscar for '12 Years A Slave' (yes, that was Channel 4-owned Film4).
- If the channel is totally privatised, it means a lot of the outsourcing mentioned above will be brought in-house as a new revenue stream. This is fine for shareholders, but it means production companies, their employees and viewers across Britain will suffer as Channel 4's output will likely become centralised in London (contradicting the whole purpose of a 'balanced economy').
- Finally, there's the cultural, patriotic and financial side. Why, like EMI before them, would you want another great British icon to be PURCHASED by yet another faceless American giant, that reduces creative content to just another pay-per-view 'underwhelmer', whose new owners would likely have no real understanding or care about the audience it serves?
Already, 'CEO hopefuls' are lining up for the job of running a privatised TV channel whose heritage is quintessentially British to the core. In some cases, applicants have quit already lucrative, high-ranking jobs just to apply.
Please, I implore you. Don't make the mistake of allowing the sale of something ORIGINAL, that has taken years to create, that represents a diverse and modern Britain, that gives those with a multitude of talents a chance to shine whilst simultaneously enriching and entertaining viewers across the U.K.
You will long for it when it's gone, believe me...
Thank you.
If you hadn't heard already, Channel 4, our world-leading creative hub is also on the verge of disappearing in to the great corporate black hole.
HM Treasury's desire to make a 'fast buck' out of Channel 4 for Chancellor George Osborne is out of control and needs to be stopped.
Firstly, I didn't used to do these sorts of things because I never heard enough stories connected to 'petition activism' success to feel it was worth it (I know now, I'm wrong on this).
I'm at a stage where I don't know where else to turn and I need your help.
I believe in the British public and I'm hoping you'll believe in this petition too so as to, not just kick-start a debate in parliament about the future of Channel 4, but to once again dispel my previous critical view that petitions can only do 'so much'.
Here are a few things that, I hope, will help you understand why I've decided to start this petition:
- Channel 4 makes most of its money out of advertising, but it DOES NOT make a profit. Instead, it outsources and plunges that cash back into high-quality programmes produced by often small 'indie' production houses across Britain.
- What's more, rules govern the channel that make sure a certain proportion of programmes MUST be made from outside of London, leading to the amazing success story that is the U.K.'s production sector.
- Risk taking. There would be LESS as shareholders wouldn't want to take a risk on programmes that don't make them money straight away.
- This includes the important role of holding high-powered individuals/corporations/governments to account. Also, experimental comedy (see Adam & Joe) and high-quality breaking news (see John Snow & team) would suffer as programming is gradually geared towards formulaic shows based entirely on ratings.
- Think of the risks taken on the Paralympic games and the effort behind making it a success or how Steve McQueen became the first black director to win an Oscar for '12 Years A Slave' (yes, that was Channel 4-owned Film4).
- If the channel is totally privatised, it means a lot of the outsourcing mentioned above will be brought in-house as a new revenue stream. This is fine for shareholders, but it means production companies, their employees and viewers across Britain will suffer as Channel 4's output will likely become centralised in London (contradicting the whole purpose of a 'balanced economy').
- Finally, there's the cultural, patriotic and financial side. Why, like EMI before them, would you want another great British icon to be PURCHASED by yet another faceless American giant, that reduces creative content to just another pay-per-view 'underwhelmer', whose new owners would likely have no real understanding or care about the audience it serves?
Already, 'CEO hopefuls' are lining up for the job of running a privatised TV channel whose heritage is quintessentially British to the core. In some cases, applicants have quit already lucrative, high-ranking jobs just to apply.
Please, I implore you. Don't make the mistake of allowing the sale of something ORIGINAL, that has taken years to create, that represents a diverse and modern Britain, that gives those with a multitude of talents a chance to shine whilst simultaneously enriching and entertaining viewers across the U.K.
You will long for it when it's gone, believe me...
Thank you.
