Here we go again, Channel 4 and Channel Five are in talks. Channel 4's new top team, David Abraham and Terry Burns, are keen to stamp their mark on the broadcaster and have started a dialogue with Channel Five. Five's owner RTL, meanwhile, has had enough of losing cash in the UK terrestrial TV market.
We have been here before, of course. There were soundings in 2004. And at Christmas 2008Channel 4 chairman and RTL chief executive Gerhard Zeiler held secret talks, at the behest of government communications minister, Lord Carter. Back then the talk was of a merger. This time the talk is of a Channel 4 takeover of Five. Back then the Channel 4 chief executive was Andy Duncan, who was looking for a solution to a claimed cash crisis. His big target was a merger with BBC Worldwide, but that never materialised. Five was a sort of consolation prize but that didn't come off either.
Since then, Channel 4's financial situation has magically recovered (was it ever that bad?). Five meanwhile seems ever more peripheral. Less than a fortnight ago Zeiler made this very odd comment:
"To take part in the consolidation, as I'm 100% sure Five will, is a valuable asset. So it is the right decision and in the interests of shareholders to stay in the [UK] market."
So, what could recommend such a tie-up?As the Times argued last time around: "A 4-Five tie-up could generate savings well in excess of £30m a year, insiders believe, as both sides would cut overheads, merge sales departments and trim their respective portfolios of digital channels, some of which lose money."
But it is hard to see how Five would help with Channel 4's public service remit. And C4 already has a decent multi-channel strategy. And Five's value is falling constantly as digital switchover moves ahead.
Abraham and Burns may be keen to make their mark, but do you think this would be the right way to go about it?
