Conservatives pledge to relocate C4

The Tories have pledged to relocate Channel 4 outside of London if they win the general election next month.

The government’s manifesto commits to the broadcaster remaining in public ownership, but also that it will be moved outside the capital.

In the paragraphs leading up to the pledge, the manifesto states: “For too long, power in Britain has been centred in London. This means opportunity has been centred in London too…

“For major cultural bodies to claim to be UK institutions they need to represent and be present across our whole United Kingdom. It is also wrong that while some of our major cultural institutions have made an effort to gain a presence across the UK, others have not. We will put this right.”

The Department of Culture Media and Sport is midway through a consultation on increasing the regional impact of Channel 4, which is set to conclude on 5 July.

The broadcaster has previously expressed the view that full relocation would be a mistake, and chief executive David Abraham told Broadcast’s Media Summit last week that it was working on “creative solutions” for how it could increase its economic and cultural impact across the UK.

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “We welcome the Conservative’s manifesto commitment that Channel 4 will remain publicly owned. Channel 4 already delivers a significant impact in the UK’s Nations and Regions and we want to continue to work with Government as part of its consultation to explore meaningful ways to grow this further and support jobs, investment and growth in the creative economy across the whole of the UK.

“In doing so we want to ensure that Channel 4 remains commercially sustainable and is able to maximise its investment in original British-produced programming.”