Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has fired the starting pistol on the Government's sale of Channel 4, marking one of the UK's biggest privatisations since Royal Mail in 2014.But who could sweep up the Great British institution behind hit shows such as Gogglebox, Peep Show and Countdown? Here are the potential bidders that may enter the race for Channel 4.ITV:Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster is understood to be keen to do a deal with Channel 4 in the event of privatisation. Such a move would help to safeguard ITV's future by giving it a much bigger scale. It would have the potential to cut costs by merging back office operations and group buying advertising.Arguably, those savings could help ITV chief Carolyn McCall's broadcaster to compete with the likes of Netflix by spending more on original shows. ITV would also be comfortable with maintaining Channel 4's remit as a public service broadcaster, considering it follows similar rules.Yet it may struggle to get a tie-up past the competition authorities, with advertising groups already expressing concern that it would reduce choice and push up the cost of TV ads on free-to-air TV.Paramount:The American entertainment company has been held up as an example by ministers as the kind of "deep pocketed" backer that could take control of Channel 4.Paramount owns Channel 5 and has been widely credited for bringing about a resurgence of the broadcaster with hit shows including All Creatures Great and Small and Our Yorkshire Farm.Combining Channel 4 and Channel 5 would create a British broadcaster of scale, but not in the same league as a combination with ITV. The question is whether the company behind Comedy Central and MTV would consider spending big on Channel 4 when it is in the middle of rolling out its global streaming service Paramount+.Sky:The pay TV giant could seek to deepen its relationship with Channel 4 by buying the broadcaster. Sky already has strong commercial ties with Channel 4 through Adsmart, the service that feeds targeted advertising to TV viewers.They struck a deal last year for even more programmes on Channel 4's All4 streaming service to appear on Sky. Previous agreements have seen Formula One highlights appear on the free-to-air broadcaster, while keeping the live rights on Sky.Andrew Griffith's position as the Prime Minister's new head of policy will further fuel speculation of a potential deal considering he is a former Sky executive.Discovery:The Olympics broadcaster was revealed by The Telegraph last year to have held informal talks about Channel 4's potential privatisation. A combination with Channel 4 and its own share of the advertising market through channels such as Eurosport would allow it to strike better advertising deals.It would also have a bigger outlet to exploit costly sports rights, such as the Olympics, without a partnership with the BBC. The American broadcaster may also see greater opportunity to leverage its potential tie-up with BT. Discovery and the telecoms giant are currently in exclusive talks over a joint venture on BT Sport, the sports channel behind live rights to the Premier League.Amazon:Jeff Bezos's streaming empire may seem like an outside bet for a Channel 4 bid. Yet Amazon Prime Video and the British broadcaster have struck a number of commercial deals in recent years that could encourage one of the world's richest men to make a takeover tilt for Channel 4.Most notably, Amazon sold Channel 4 the live rights to broadcast Emma Raducanu's victory in US Open over free-to-air television last year, in a blow to the BBC. Yet, with an already successful streaming venture in the UK through Amazon Prime Video, the logic of striking such a deal may not stack up compared to other potential suitors.Rupert Murdoch:Could the media mogul launch a bid for Channel 4? Given his recent foray back into British television through the Piers Morgan-led TV news network TalkTV, there will be speculation that Mr Murdoch will cast an eye over the broadcaster as well. He was previously linked to a bid to buy Channel 5 in 2014 when it was owned by the former adult magazine tycoon Richard Desmond. Channel 5 was ultimately sold to Paramount.Q&A: Why does the Government want to privatise Channel 4?Fears that Channel 4 could be outgunned by the huge spending power of the American streaming giants have pushed the Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, towards privatisation.Ministers believe that under the control of "deep pocketed" owner Channel 4 would be able to thrive as a public service broadcaster because it would have the financial flexibility to invest into original programming that could help compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney.Channel 4 is owned by the Government, but does not take any taxpayer money from the £159 a year licence fee that funds the BBC. Instead, it is a not-for-profit company that uses all the money it makes from advertising to fund programme commissions and the costs of the wider business.While Channel 4 enjoyed record financial results in the wake of the pandemic, ministers were concerned about the blow it took at the height of the Covid crisis when its advertising revenues plunged and it was forced to cut back its budget and save £95m.Some MPs believe Channel 4 would be more resilient to future downturns in the advertising industry if a wealthy backer was able to shield it from such fluctuations.What does privatising Channel 4 mean?More details over how a sale would happen are set to be laid out in a White Paper later this month, but for now, the crux is that the Government is looking to end its ownership of Channel 4. Bids are expected next year, with the aim of selling the broadcaster in early 2024.The cash made from the sale is expected to become a "creative dividend", to be funnelled back into the TV industry and production companies. It is unclear how large this would be, although some have suggested it could raise more than £1bn.Although Channel 4 would have a new owner, government sources told The Telegraph that the plan was to keep Channel 4 as a "public service broadcaster". Exactly how much of its remit the government would seek to protect as part of a sale could have a strong bearing on the sale price.Channel 4 is expected to make edgy content for a younger audience, to commission shows from Britain's burgeoning independent production sector and ensure a slice of its programming comes from outside London. It has also recently opened a regional headquarters in Leeds where Channel 4 News is now broadcast from on some days. Enders Analysis says Channel 4’s value could swing anywhere between £600m and £1.5bn depending on how much of its remit is enshrined as part of any sell-off.Why does the Government want to do it?Nadine Dorries has said government ownership was "holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon".Ministers said this ownership structure had acted as a "straight jacket" on the broadcaster. A government source said a sale "could allow it to set up its own production house and generate its own intellectual property".Meanwhile, critics of privatisation have argued that the sale has been prompted by Tory dislike for Channel 4's "woke" left-wing coverage and had opted for a sale as punishment beating for its provocative moves, such as replacing Boris Johnson with a melting ice sculpture when he failed to turn up for a climate change debate ahead of the 2019 election.Does everyone agree?There are concerns over what this means for Channel 4's future. The company itself said it was "disappointing that [the] announcement has been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised".The chief executive, Alex Mahon, has argued key parts of Channel 4's DNA could be sacrificed by a new owner that would be more motivated by their pursuit of profits than protecting the company's position as a public service broadcaster.Pact, the industry body representing the UK's film and TV production sector, has branded the move unnecessary, claiming it puts at risk the UK's welter of independent producers.A spokesman for Pact said: "Unlike other broadcasters, Channel 4 makes none of its programmes in-house, commissioning hundreds of independent TV companies from around the UK each year to make its programmes, and a private owner could shift production away from these independent producers to cut costs, with a knock-on impact on the wider industry."It is estimated that this shift to in-house production will lead to a loss of £3.7bn to the sector over a decade. This potential move to in-house production transfers value away from British SMEs and into the hands of large profit driven corporations."
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