Channel 4's Thompson rejects privatisation

Mark Thompson, Channel 4's chief executive, rejected calls to privatise the troubled channel as he urged the government to discuss ways of guaranteeing the company's funding to ensure its independence and survival in a highly-competitive market.

Thompson, delivering the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, said: "Unless the public model for Channel 4 fails utterly, I don't believe that privatisation is the right answer."