Selling off Channel 4 will be considered in government review into whether the future of public service broadcasting is 'fit for purpose'
The Government will consider selling off Channel 4 as part of a review into public sector broadcasting announced today.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the new panel will look into the future of public networks including the BBC and even question 'whether we need them at all' in the digital age.
Mr Dowden said the media landscape had experienced an 'utter transformation' in recent years thanks to Netflix and Amazon Prime 'lobbing a grenade into the system'.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the new panel will look into the future of public networks including the BBC and even question 'whether we need them at all' in the digital age
He said the new panel will advise ministers on whether public service broadcasting is still 'relevant' and whether the current funding and governance model are 'fit for purpose'.
The review will also 'take a close look at' ITV, Channel 5 and S4C in Wales and STV in Scotland.
In a Telegraph article to accompany the announcement, Mr Dowden wrote: 'It's time to ask really profound questions about the role that all of those broadcasters have to play in the digital age - and indeed whether we need them at all.
'These bold questions require bold answers. So today I am pulling together a team of broadcasting and tech heavyweights to help us shape the future of public broadcasting in the UK. This 10-strong panel won't just be tiptoeing around the edges.
'They have been tasked with drilling right down into the current system and how it operates. Public service broadcasting has already lived, adapted and thrived through a hundred years of history. It's time to start thinking about what it does next.'
The panel will also examine whether Channel 4, which is publicly owned but funded entirely through advertising and other commercial activities, should be privatised – the Telegraph reported.
Separately, funding negotiations have also begun to determine how much the BBC's licence fee will cost from 2022.
The process could affect the way the BBC delivers its services, depending on the deal it agrees with ministers.
If it were to receive less money it may have to cut back in certain areas.
The inflated salaries the BBC pays to its most high-profile staff has repeatedly come in for criticism, with Gary Lineker leading the pack on £1,750,000 a year.
Alongside Channel 4 (pictured is its London HQ) the review will also 'take a close look at' ITV, Channel 5 and S4C in Wales and STV in Scotland
Mr Dowden has asked the BBC to set out its 'financial needs' to 'inform' his assessment of the right price for the licence fee and to make sure it offers 'value for money'.
Earlier this year the BBC prompted a huge row by stripping millions of over-75s of their free TV licences, restricting the benefit to those who are on pension credit.
This followed the Government's decision to make the BBC liable for the cost of funding the benefit, which the corporation said was not possible without substantial cuts to service.
Ministers have repeatedly spoken of their intention to reform the BBC, and a consultation is currently underway to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee.
Criticism of the corporation's perceived Woke agenda led Boris Johnson to put forward the former Telegraph editor Charles Moore to take over as chairman, but he ruled himself out.
In February, it was also claimed the PM had said it would be a 'great idea' to sell off Channel 4 - the latest in a series of times he has appeared to endorse the idea.
The report came in the wake of a series of rows about the channel's coverage of the election campaign.
Conflicts of interest: The BBC stars topping up their hefty salaries as they cash in with huge payouts from banks, car giants and oil companies
JON SOPEL, £245,000-a-year BBC salary: Jon Sopel, 60, is paid up to £245,000 a year in his role as the broadcaster's North America Editor, covering all aspects of US news including politics, policy and business.
But the presenter last year sparked a conflict of interest row after accepting tens of thousands of pounds from the biggest bank on Wall Street.
Mr Sopel boosted his pay by speaking at a string of JP Morgan events – despite it posing an apparent conflict of interest.
Jon Sopel presided over two sessions at JP Morgan's Global Markets Conference in Paris in 2017 – which included an interview with Mr Dimon. And in 2016, Mr Sopel appeared at JP Morgan's Board Summit in New York. Pictured is Mr Sopel giving an off-the-record keynote address at the world's biggest tobacco company's Miami conference in April
Mr Sopel presided over two sessions at JP Morgan's Global Markets Conference in Paris in 2017.
And in 2016, Mr Sopel appeared at JP Morgan's Board Summit in New York, where he interviewed a former president of the European Commission about what Brexit 'means for global business'.
Sources say he was paid around £35,000 for the Paris conference. He is thought to have received around £20,000 for the New York event.
He is also known to have hosted other JP Morgan events. Mr Sopel's agent Mary Greenham said: 'He has done events for JP Morgan and the BBC are aware of this.'
Earlier in 2019, he spoke at an event by Philip Morris International, the world's biggest tobacco company.
Mr Sopel lives in Washington with his wife, but keeps a four-bedroom house in Hampstead worth more than £2million and a £1.2million flat in London's Belsize Park.
MISHAL HUSSAIN, £255,000-a-year BBC salary: The Radio 4's Today programme presenter, 47, took part in at least 10 functions and in January appeared at the Oslo Energy Forum.
Ms Husain moderated the event - which she has also been apart of at least five times previously - but it is not known how much she was paid.
However other BBC stars are listed on speaking agency websites as being able to charge between £10,000 and £25,000 to attend corporate events.
At the forum Ms Husain moderated discussions on topics such as 'climate action in a world of cherished entitlements'.
As well as the three-day Oslo Energy Forum appearances, Ms Husain has attended a conference staged by Equinor, Norway's state-controlled oil company.
BBC presenter Mishal Husain was paid to appear at Norwegian gas and oil industry events, causing critics to call for tighter rules
HUW EDWARDS, £495,000-a-year BBC salary: Huw Edwards has raked in an estimated £400,000 in speaking fees in the last five years.
The News at Ten anchor has fronted at least 16 events since the start of 2014, and commands fees of up to £25,000 a time.
He is also thought to have hosted numerous other events over that period – but the BBC does not make the engagements public or keep a central register so the extent of his moonlighting work is unknown.
Mr Edwards does not tend to accept money from firms that could be a conflict of interest. He also undertakes charity events for free. However, he has fronted a series of events for railway firms, regional law societies and insurance brokers.
The News at Ten anchor has fronted at least 16 events since the start of 2014, and commands fees of up to £25,000 a time
The News at Ten anchor fronted at least 16 events since the start of 2014, and commands fees of up to £25,000 a time. Pictured, Edwards hosting the British Insurance Brokers Association conference where Boris Johnson revealed his ambition to be Prime Minister
In 2019, he hosted the National Rail Awards in London and also fronted events for the Birmingham Law Society, the Women's Institute and Thames Valley Business Magazine.
He also hosted the British Insurance Brokers Association conference where Boris Johnson revealed his ambition to be Prime Minister.
According to JLA, one of the speakers' agencies which has him on their books, he charges between £10,000 and £25,000.
The BBC said that none of the events broke its impartiality rules.
GREG JAMES, £229,999-a-year BBC salary: Radio 1 DJ Greg James was paid £100,000 by oil giant Shell to front an online campaign which plugged the company's 'green' credentials.
The 34-year-old, who broadcasts to around 5.6 million listeners each Monday to Thursday, fronted a five-part series for Shell called The Great Travel Hack.
The Top Gear-style programme followed two teams of competitors racing from London to Istanbul while using environmentally friendly vehicles.
Sources close to the PR campaign claimed that James was paid £100,000 to feature in the videos, which have been watched 81 million times since Shell uploaded them to its YouTube channel last October.
Radio 1 DJ Greg James (pictured in July promoting the Radio 1 'Up Yours Corona' campaign), was paid £100,000 by oil giant Shell to front an online campaign which plugged the company's 'green' credentials
KAMAL AHMED, £209,999-a-year BBC salary: In February, the editorial director of BBC News apologised for accepting a £12,000 payment for speaking at a banker's conference, adding that he will not be taking any money from organisers.
Kamal Ahmed is understood to have received £12,000 for a 40-minute appearance at the Aberdeen Standard Investment's conference, days after telling 450 of his colleagues that their jobs were being cut.
Ahmed – who is listed on the Speakers Associates website in the £10,000 to £25,000 per appearance category – took part in a panel discussion hosted by Steph McGovern, his former BBC colleague who now works for Channel 4.
He came under fire both publicly and within the BBC for his £12,000 fee for the event and subsequently sent an email to colleagues apologising.
Kamal Ahmed is understood to have received £12,000 for a 40-minute appearance at the Aberdeen Standard. The director, who earns between £205,000 and £209,999, is listed on the Speakers Associates website in the £10,000 to £25,000 per appearance category
Ahmed said in his email that he was asked 'some months ago' to talk about 'economic issues' by the investment firm and that he was not asked to talk about anything related to the BBC.
He is the previous Economics editor at the corporation.
Ahmed, who earns between £205,000 and £209,999, was one of four senior BBC bosses who sat on bar stools as they announced the job cuts.
He drew criticism after he turned up for the 'bloodbath' announcement wearing a black T-shirt and casual trousers.
Ahmed was one of four senior BBC bosses who sat on bar stools as they announced the job cuts. He drew criticism after he turned up for the 'bloodbath' announcement wearing a black T-shirt and casual trousers. Pictured, BBC executives Gavin Allen , Naja Nielson (second from left), Jonathan Munro (second from right) and Kamal Ahmed as they announced the cuts