Warner Bros. Discovery & Fremantle Weigh In On Controversial Creation Of Channel 4 In-House As UK Media Bill Enters Next Stage
30.05.2023 - 11:19
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Britain’s Got Talent maker Fremantle have weighed in on the debate about the controversial creation of Channel 4 in-house.
In responses to the UK’s draft Media Bill, which, when passed, will see Channel 4 given the rights to own its shows for the first time in its 40-year history, the powerhouses urged protections for the dozens of UK producers that use Channel 4 commissions as the bedrock for the growth of their businesses.
Channel 4 in-house was unveiled when privatization plans were reversed earlier this year and is arguably the most controversial element of the new Media Bill, which will also see the streamers regulated for the first time and the introduction of broadcaster prominence rules, amongst other changes.
If Channel 4 in-house is given the go-ahead WBD, which owns several UK indies, called on the government and regulator Ofcom to forge a “creative window of competition that can be retained to ensure the benefits of the current regime.”
“We need to ensure the benefits are not put at risk to the detriment of Channel 4, its viewers and the wider UK audiovisual ecosystem,” added the WBD response.
WBD flagged the success of its own UK indies such as Who Do You Think You Are? producer Wall to Wall and First Dates indie Twenty Twenty, which grew “as a direct result of the unique publisher-broadcaster model operated by Channel 4.”
The U.S. media conglomerate said Channel 4 should be given time to be measured against a new “duty of sustainability” before in-house changes are considered.
Fremantle, which produces the likes of Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and The Apprentice via its wealth of UK indies, said “any changes to Channel 4’s remit and quotas should be