UK Government Asks Producers For Data On Channel 4 As In-House Productions Plan Moves To Next Stage

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: The UK government has asked producers to provide data on their Channel 4 commissions as the controversial plan to create a C4 in-house production unit moves to the next stage.

Dozens of UK producers were contacted by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) earlier this week with a request for information on their deals with Channel 4.

An email, obtained by Deadline, asked for data on “Channel 4’s commissioning of your business, what proportion of your revenues that supports and how that commissioning has changed over time.” The request was voluntary and respondents were urged to highlight any concerns regarding the sharing of confidential information.

Producers were also asked to send in written submissions on “the role Channel 4 plays with regard to your business and the market” and “measures that the government should consider to ensure that Channel 4’s important role in driving investment into the [production] sector is safeguarded.” The request came as the UK government moves to the next stage of the most controversial element of the Channel 4 privatization u-turn – the creation of a Channel 4 in-house productions unit that would mean the publisher-broadcaster owns the rights to its shows for the first time in its 40-year history.