In an act of vengeance the Tories are giving Channel Four to one of their mates for a wad of cash, sorry privatising it.
This despite 90% of the responses being against it.
This despite 90% of the responses being against it.
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Of course, also important not to view it through rose-tinted glasses, for every clear example of PSB content such as Walter Presents, Channel 4 News and Unreported World, Film4 and the All4 app, you've plenty of dross like the various reality and property programmes, along with the extensive repeats - admittedly, that's also fully true of both the Beeb and ITV. -
Yep. The channel that has actually held the government to account gets privatised. Potentially removing a source of scrutiny. How very fascist.Comment
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Couldn't have put it better, PT. The shamelessness of it is sickening.Comment
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https://twitter.com/krishgm/status/1511116327880208388?t=WktLJNyRDLsJ9GFzHLFeBQ&s=19
So will they do that? Nah.Comment
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Poor Krishnan. The day was going quite nicely for him until then, as he was getting to give some happy interviews about it being the 50th anniversary of Newsround. Now there was a programme with editorial independence.Comment
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I'm not confident that the editorial independence of C4 News will be "ringfenced" given that C4 is being sold for political reasons.Comment
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I'd call Nadine Dorries a quarter-wit if I thought she was anywhere close to a whole quarter.
What a petty, spiteful, childish act of cultural vandalism.
And this bunch of cunts complain about statues being pulled down.Comment
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https://twitter.com/RuthDavidsonPC/status/1511226059370471424?t=7liKV81M7a5Wz0G3y2mLvw&s=19
Note the author of the tweet as well as the content.Comment
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This is purely and simply a way of suppressing free and independent news reporting (and, I expect, satirical content). The decision who to sell to certainly won't be free of that. As noted above, this is exactly the sort of thing fascists do.Comment
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https://twitter.com/adilray/status/1511245308449148928?t=yzp3rhQzba1DXf-NW6EJ2g&s=19
So is the plan for it to rack up massive debt and be bailed out by the state?Comment
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I’ve always veered away from using the word “fascist” when criticising a government. It sounds like the kind of puerile, knee-jerk expression I would have used as a teenager when reacting to even the most minor governmental decision that I didn’t agree with. Line it up along “sticking it to the man” and my teenage political glossary is more or less covered.Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
However I don’t think its usage is such a wild exaggeration now. The news channel which most rigorously yet appropriately challenges the government (in other words, does its job properly) is being systematically subdued and dismantled by the very same government. Suppression of free media is the keynote of an authoritarian society.
Add to this the deeply undemocratic Elections Bill and The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently going through Parliament which is designed to severely restrict the right to protest – giving the police much greater power to decide which protests go ahead, where and for how long.
So fascism isn’t the throwaway line of the disenfranchised youth any more. It’s happening.Comment
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It's the Orban and Erdoğan playbook in action.Comment
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From Twitter above:
"Channel 4 has a valuation of about 1% of that of @netflix. If it wants to grow and compete globally it will need access to capital"
Why would they want to compete globally?Comment
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If I'm honest, I don't see any real evidence of C4 'wishing to compete with NetFlix' anyway. They offer entirely different services.
And one of them doesn't cost the viewer a £7-per-month subscription.Comment
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It's Guido and Guido's dismal view of culture isn't it. If it's not unrestrained capitalism and profits for people who are already rich then what is the point?Originally posted by Belhaven View PostComment
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Neither of them do - Netflix is going up to £10.99 per monthOriginally posted by Jah Womble View PostComment
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Okay, I don't have it so didn't know that.
I s'pose with households being squeezed left, right and centre by inflation and soaring energy costs - and 'luxuries' such as NetFlix likely among the first sacrifices to be made - they're going to have to recoup that money somehow...Comment
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Their story has been one of slowing subscription growth which has driven the increases. They are also prototyping a mechanism that checks where people are logging in from and will charge a fee for borrowed passwords.Originally posted by Jah Womble View PostComment
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No doubt C4 should be retained. But when I was playing devil's advocate trying to think of what unique and valuable programming they have, I really struggled. There's the news and some documentaries, but I think quite a lot of their programming is horrible. Naked Attraction, really despicable stuff.Comment
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The more sensible option (IMO, but hey, what do I know?) might've been for NetFlix to embrace this 'borrowed password'-culture and offer up some kind of share-package for a decent price?Originally posted by caja-dglh View Post
In this climate of tightened purse-strings, that might've been quite good PR for them. (Well, better PR than hiking their prices by another £36 per annum, anyway.)Comment
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The shared password thing is something they are testing out in South America and follows something like the model you are thinking of. They are more cautious about changing the terms of service and policing something perceived as a way to beat the pricing. Plus subscription models are remarkably sticky.
That plus the tightened purse-strings are due to inflation, which is exactly what they are joining in on.Comment
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Well, I'm sure they have increased costs of their own with which to deal, but such services still strike me as 'first to go' when folk start having to cut back.Comment
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People might cut back on a few streaming services but not them all I'd bet. This is how folk watch telly nowadays. Netflix is betting their direct debits will stay while folk cut Apple or Disney.Comment
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https://twitter.com/antartica81/status/1511318576220807170?t=FuCk22AGXBUepES_jejRYw&s=19
What do you expect from a Russian agent? I thought that's what they did to traitors anyway.Comment
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