[djaychela]

>it should be capable of carrying on its endeavours privately with no issue whatsoever.

But that's not the way that things like this work. C4 produces some programming that no other broadcaster in the UK does. The programmes may not be "everything for everyone", but there is definitely something for everyone, and just about everything they've ever made is still available to watch.

It will not remain that way if it is privately owned. There's too much pressure to serve shareholder interests and make everything profitable. Not everything can turn a profit, and "the market" doesn't solve all issues - the arts in particular being a case in point.

Dorries has always struck me as being pretty incompetent and not someone you would label as a deep thinker. She's obsessed with the destruction of the BBC, and C4 is clearly an easier target as most people don't even know that it is currently publically owned.

[pdpi]

> There's too much pressure to serve shareholder interests and make everything profitable.

This is the perfect example of why I don’t like the “serve shareholder interests” line of reasoning. The state is the shareholder, and they their own interests being served.

The current administration is probably less profit-driven than a hypothetical private one, but there’s still somebody at the helm.

[shapefrog]

> The state is the shareholder,

The people own the state,

> their interests being served