Channel 4

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Without wanting to interrupt the harmony that has broken out at the start of the new year, the Government have always had the best interests of the public service broadcasters, including Channel 4, at heart when looking at that issue. As we have noted, the media landscape is rapidly changing. Unlike other public service broadcasters, Channel 4 has limited ability to diversify its revenue or to raise money through borrowing or equity capital. That is why we have looked at a range of options and why we have been very clear that doing nothing is not an option.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister join me in giving a big shout out to Channel 4 for the number of European and global productions that it makes available free to view? While we were members of the European Union, we used to qualify for the MEDIA programme co-production scheme. Is that still the case?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I will have to check that and write to my noble friend. I certainly echo her congratulations to Channel 4 on bringing a range of global content to viewers in this country and for sharing excellent British content with viewers around the world.