the inside story of Britain’s most controversial broadcaster Business

While ministers say they have no choice but to act now for the channel’s future, critics have argued there is an ulterior motive at play due to the Channel 4’s focus on leftist issues and harsh criticism of Boris Johnson.

The Tories have warned Channel 4 that its broadcasting mandate will be reviewed in retaliation for what Lee Cain, the former Tory spokesman, described as a ‘provocative partisan stunt’, when he replaced Mr Johnson with a sculpture melting ice when he didn’t show up. for a debate on climate change before the 2019 elections.

The move inflamed tensions between Channel 4 and the Tories after Dorothy Byrne, the broadcaster’s then head of news and current affairs, called Mr Johnson a ‘known liar’ who was copying Vladimir Putin’s approach to the media during from the annual Edinburgh Television Festival MacTaggart Lecture in August 2019. .

Jon Snow, the veteran broadcaster who recently left Channel 4 News, had also been criticized for his lack of impartiality when he claimed he chanted “F — the Tories” at Glastonbury Festival five years ago.

Ms Dorries reinforced the idea that ministers intended to privatize Channel 4 during her first Culture Committee hearing in November, when she incorrectly indicated that the broadcaster received royalties.

While ministers dismissed the idea that privatization is a punishment, concerns remain that such a move could endanger a channel celebrated around the world for its innovative programming.

Channel 4 aired shows such as British drama This is England 86, Black Mirror, Father Ted, The Inbetweeners, Peep Show, Big Brother, Skins and soap opera Brookside.

He also boosted the career of Sacha Baron Cohen after he aired Da Ali G Show in 2003, pioneered the idea of ​​watching other people watch TV via Gogglebox and inspired a British appetite for top-flight Italian football in the 1960s. 1990 with Football Italia.

Lately, he’s become a disability champion thanks to his decision to siphon off a slice of his programming spend for Paralympic Games live-streaming rights, and captured a moment of national sporting glory by striking a deal with Amazon for the rights to show Emma Raducanu’s victory in the US Open tennis final last September.

However, he was criticized for straying from his commitment to unearthing new and unproven content when he poached the BBC’s Great British Bake Off in 2016, a move that would serve nine million viewers.

The esteem in Channel 4’s programming commissions is such that many of its hits are snapped up by American streamers once they hit UK screens: Irish comedy Derry Girls and reality show The Circle both passed on Netflix.

Dispatches, the current affairs documentary show, has won countless awards for its revelations of wrongdoing, while the broadcaster recently courted veteran presenter Andrew Neil to lead a new political interview show on Sundays.