The case for selling Channel 4 is being re-examined, the UK's new culture minister, Michelle Donelan has said, according to Reuters, raising the possibility that a plan to privatise the publicly-owned broadcaster could be scrapped.
"We are looking especially at the business case for the sale of Channel 4 and making sure that we still agree with that decision," Donelan told BBC radio, Reuters reported.
The sale of the state-owned broadcaster, which is funded by advertising and receives no public money, was announced by former prime minister Boris Johnson's government in April this year.
The government said then that a sale, possibly to a US media giant, would help the broadcaster thrive against newer competitors like Netflix and Amazon.
The broadcaster's management, lawmakers across parliament and television grandees strongly opposed the move, however, saying it would jeopardise Channel 4's distinctive programming.
Channel 4 was created by Conservative former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government in the 1980s to deliver an alternative to the BBC and ITV, with a focus on under-served audiences.