
The former boss of Channel 4 is among the bidders looking at making a bid for the broadcaster, should the government proceed with a sell-off of the publicly-owned broadcaster.
Lord Grade is a former chief executive of Channel 4 who later became chair of the BBC and ITV.
The Sunday Times reported Lord Grade’s Miroma production company was looking into the possibility of a bid. The time to change the nature of Channel 4 is now before it falls over before it succumbs to the inevitable decline,” he told a House of Lords committee earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Credit Suisse and Robey Warshaw are said to be advising ITV on whether it should also make a bid.
Any move by the commercial broadcaster would surely attract the attention of the competition commission, given the number of digital channels already operated by both iTV and Channel 4.
Other bidders can be expected to include ViacomCBS, which owns Channel 5, Comcast-backed Sky and Disney.