Merger Prospects Loom for Channel 4

LONDON, January 16: The merger of British broadcaster Channel 4 into a wider commercial public-service broadcasting entity is among the policy proposals reportedly included in the Digital Britain report due later this month from Stephen Carter, the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.

The Financial Times says it has seen a draft of the report, which is said to be calling for a bigger broadcasting group that would include Channel 4 and Five, to be created by 2012. The move aims to solve the problem of Channel 4’s funding shortfall. 

Channel 4’s chief executive, Andy Duncan, this week rejected the idea of a merger with Five, saying that it would be like trying to "mix oil and water." Duncan has suggested that the funding shortfall be remedied through either Channel 4 taking a cut of the BBC license fee, or through some sort of partnership with BBC Worldwide. British press reports indicate that those merger talks between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 are close to breaking down.