Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television
deadline.comThere was a moment last November when Channel 4’s senior executives breathed a sigh of relief. Sat at the top table of Channel 4’s 40th birthday party, Chief Executive Alex Mahon was flanked by her friend Elisabeth Murdoch and doyens of UK broadcasting, including BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive.
They were raising a glass to a British success story in a rare public display of unity. On the same table was Thérèse Coffey, a senior government minister who had survived three prime ministers in the space of little more than three months.
Her presence at the V&A Museum event bemused others, who believed the government only had hostile intentions for Channel 4 after sanctioning a sale of the broadcaster against its wishes.
Things soon got weirder. Coffey turned to Mahon and asked if she could raise a glass to Channel 4. She then proceeded to surprise the room full of TV luminaries by serenading her hosts with a rendition of happy birthday.
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