Channel 4 to exit London?
March 29, 2017
Proposals on whether to move Channel 4 out of London will be considered as part of a government consultation. Plans to privatise the TV company have been axed, but where it spends its money is also under review, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has revealed.
Bradley said the UK government wants “the benefits of this national asset to be spread far and wide, not just in London”.
Channel 4 said a “substantial relocation would be highly damaging”.
The government carried out an 18-month review of the publicly-owned channel, which has more than 800 staff but fewer than 30 based outside central London.
Channel 4 is “precious public asset”, she will say, but it must “provide a platform for unheard voices and untold stories from right across the United Kingdom”.
The consultation will look at whether the company should relocate all or some of its staff outside London, including the possibility of moving its HQ.
It will also review whether the amount of money spent on productions outside of London, which is set at 35 per cent of original British commissions, should increase to 50 per cent.