U.K. to Pursue Sale of State-Owned Broadcaster Channel 4

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. plans to push ahead with the privatization of state-owned broadcaster Channel Four Television Corp., according to people familiar with ministers' plans.

The plan will be disclosed alongside other broadcasting reforms, one of the people said, all of whom asked not to be named because the details are private. A sale could let the channel grow and generate intellectual property, and the business will remain a so-called public service broadcaster, a status that brings obligations as well as privileges like prominence, the person added.

The Telegraph reported on the plan earlier Monday, citing a government source. “It is disappointing that today's announcement has been made without formally recognizing the significant public interest concerns which have been raised,” a spokesman for the broadcaster said in an emailed statement.

Representatives for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The process could take 18 months or more and is “distracting and disruptive” for staff, according to an internal email from Channel 4 Chief Executive Officer Alex Mahon to staff, seen by Bloomberg. She said she'd been informed earlier in the afternoon about the government's plans.

Interest could possibly come from the country's largest free-to-air broadcaster ITV Plc, as well as the likes of Paramount Global, which bought Channel 5 in 2014 — though such combinations would likely face antitrust concerns.

Channel 4 made its debut in 1982 under former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but it has more recently attracted criticism from senior members of the ruling Conservative government, who have challenged its take on current affairs and called its approach “left wing.” It is state-owned but self-funded with advertising revenue.

The channel could fetch between 750 million pounds ($984 million) and 1.2 billion pounds, said Claire Enders, founder of Enders Analysis, depending on which elements of its current responsibilities are preserved. It could take years of lawmaker wrangling and “is not going to be for the faint-hearted,” she said.