News, Updates & Events

Financial Times TV production companies fear Channel 4 privatisation threatens ‘indy’ scene The Guardian David Attenborough accuses ministers of ‘short-sighted’ attack on TV networks The Guardian Armando Iannucci leads criticism of secrecy over BBC’s future Deadline.com Hugh Grant, Neil Gaiman & Michael Sheen Sign Letter Attacking UK Government’s “Short-Sighted Political & Financial Attacks” On The BBC Hollywood Reporter Hugh Grant, Michael Sheen: U.K. Public Service TV Under “Severe Threat” From Streamers, Government Lionel Barber, Twitter I signed this petition because I don’t think the future of the BBC and public broadcasting should be debated in secret by a small group of unaccountable people…

10/09/2026 ‘A completely unique opportunity’: the secretive process that will decide the BBC’s future Barbara Speed for the Guardian 24/08/2022 The James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture Emily Maitlis for the Edinburgh Television Festival 12/08/2022 Government officials told Channel 4 to delete parts of annual report ‘at odds’ with privatisation Chris Burn for the Yorkshire Post 17/03/2022 Privatising Channel 4 would only strengthen Putin’s hand Andrew Mitchell MP for the Times 16/03/2022 Letter: The BBC’s decision is on the right wavelength Professor Tim Luckhurst for the Financial Times 07/03/2022 Letter: BBC frontline reporters exemplify UK soft power David Manning for the Financial Times 26/07/2021 Channel 4 means more to the British people than an empty sell-off Karen Bradley MP for the Times 08/07/2021 No Tory should want to privatise Channel 4 Ruth Davidson for the Telegraph 06/07/2021 Privatising Channel 4 is cancel culture at its worst Chris Matheson for the Times 06/05/2021 “United Kingdom broadcasters lead Netflix”, Informitv “Public broadcasting: does the UK’s regulator have the public interest at heart?”, Steven Barnett in The Conversation 26/4/21 2/3/21 “Why Ofcom must find its backbone”, Steven Barnett and Julian Petley on impartiality in context of GBTV launch March 2021 “Why television is good for us” Peter Bazalgette in British Journalism Review, a distillation of his 2021 Charles Wheeler lecture March 2021 An Assessment of the Economic Impact of the BBC by KPMG ‘The BBC and the battle for truth: Can the corporation save itself and the nation from fake news and culture wars?’ New Statesman 19.2.2021 28/01/2021 “The United States needs a BBC” Elisabeth Braw, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in Foreign  Policy magazine FT article ‘Ofcom calls for overhaul of UK public service broadcasting rules’ 8.12.20 December 2020 Creating and measuring dynamic public value at the BBC by Mariana Mazzucato, Rowan Conway, Eleonora Maria Mazzoli, Eva Knoll and Sarah Albala 17/11/20 “Is UK public broadcasting still ‘fit for purpose’ in the digital age?” Jamie Medhurst for The Conversation November 2020 “BBC licence fee settlement: Further cuts will wound the sector” Report Enders Analysis Guardian article Peter York summarising the arguments of the book with useful myth-busting section. 24.10.20 3/10/20 “Can Tim Davie save the BBC?” Jean Seaton in Prospect 1/10/20 “The war on the BBC is real.. and it’s organised” Peter York in the New European September 2020 Tim Davie’s Introductory Speech as Director General “#DefundtheBBC: the anatomy of a social media campaign” Steven Barnett in The Conversation 10/6/20 Reuters Institute Digital News Report June 2020 (shows the BBC is most trusted news brand in USA after local tv news) 8/4/20 “This crisis has shown what public service broadcasting can do” Roger Mosey for Prospect BBC: After a decade of cuts, serious dangers lie ahead’ Voice of the Listener and Viewer Bulletin Spring 2020 June 2016 A future for public service television: content and platforms in a digital world (the Puttnam Report), Goldsmiths 8/5/16 “Channel 4’s David Abraham: why wreck a winning formula with privatisation?” David Abraham (then CEO of C4) May 2016 “The Consequences of Privatising Channel 4”, report Patrick Barwise and Gillian Brooks 4/2/16 “Channel 4 may be a privatisation too far: here’s why” David Hutchison in The Conversation “Why the BBC Matters: Memo to the New Parliament about a Unique British Institution” Steven Barnett and Jean Seaton in The Political Quarterly, August 2010 (old and paywalled but still very good):

March 2021 The future of public service broadcasting House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee November 2019 Public service broadcasting: as vital as ever House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and Digital July 2016 A Privatised Future for Channel 4? House of Lords Select Committee on Communications February 2016 BBC Charter Review House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee February 2016 BBC Charter Review: Reith not revolution House of Lords Select Committee on Communications February 2015 Future of the BBC House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee

December 2016 BBC Charter December 2016 Agreement between BBC and Secretary of State May 2016 Government White Paper: “A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction”