NICOLA Sturgeon has described plans to privatise Channel 4 as “cultural vandalism”.
Earlier this month, the UK Government confirmed they were looking to sell off the channel after 40 years in public ownership.
During First Minister's Questions, Jenni Minto, the SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute, asked Ms Sturgeon is thought Channel 4 was "currently under threat from a Tory Government that appears to be doing all it can to undermine the principles of public service broadcasting for its own narrow political interest?”
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: “These proposals, I think, represent cultural vandalism, but they do also represent an attempt on the part of the UK Government to undermine public service broadcasting.”
She said that the current model is a “good one, it’s a successful one”, and called on people to “get behind it” to try to reverse the move by the Conservatives.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I can’t see any reason whatsoever why Channel 4 should be privatised, and especially not at the very time it has shown resilience in weathering the pandemic and strengthened its content spend and investment in Scotland.”
Meanwhile, former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson drew comparisons between the plans to privatise Channel 4 and the news that Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022.
The streaming giant has warned shareholders that it could lose a further two million subscribers in the three months leading up to July.
Ms Davidson said: “I like Netflix. Heck, I’m a subscriber. I want it to do well.
“But its current tough patch throws into sharp relief why those in Government saying Channel 4 needs (to be) flogged off in order to compete with such streaming platforms should pause and realise Channel 4’s stability is actually a strength.”
Launched in 1982 under the Thatcher government, Channel 4 has a public service remit that commits it to work with independent producers and make programmes for a younger, more diverse audience.
The station has a unique funding structure, in that while it’s state-owned, it’s entirely commercially funded, making its money through advertising.
The government has argued that this affects its ability to grow and be competitive against the streaming giants. A private network, they argue would be able to borrow
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