Britain | Channel-chopping

Britain proposes—again—to privatise Channel 4

New streaming technology has reignited an old debate

VIEWERS WHO moan about repeats on television must have rolled their eyes at the news on June 23rd. Among the headlines was that Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, is considering the privatisation of Channel 4, a publicly owned, commercially run TV station. The idea has been aired by governments almost ever since the channel’s first broadcast in 1982.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Channel-chopping”

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