Sir Peter Bazalgette, former chair of ITV, on ITV ceasing to be a PSB and a case for privatising Channel 4
“The public service broadcasting system is undoubtedly facing an existential threat,” so says Sir Peter Bazalgette. He has been responsible for shows such as Big Brother, Changing Rooms and Ready Steady Cook and in September he stepped down as chair of ITV. We discuss the importance of the Media Bill and the existential threat to broadcasters, privatisation of Channel 4, the BBC's vision and the need for a proper debate about what we want from the BBC. “ITV has a number of options. I know it wants to remain a public service broadcaster or a public service media company [PSM], and it treasures the regional and national news and all the other things it does, but it is one of its options. It’s a healthy company, it's got a very strong international production company, it's got strong cash flows, low debt, and so it has a number of options. And one of those options could be not being a PSM.”Support the podcast by subscribing here.Find all our podcasts hereRoger Bolton's Guardian Opinion article here. @BeebRoger@[email protected] Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.