Hill Quits Ofcom Board For Tilt At Channel 4

A former chief executive of Betfair has quit as a director of the media industry regulator so that he can throw his hat into the ring for the chairmanship of Channel 4.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that Stephen Hill, who only joined Ofcom's board last year, informed colleagues in November that he wanted to replace Lord Burns at the helm of the state-owned broadcaste‎r.

Mr Hill's decision to apply for the job comes at a time of huge uncertainty for Channel 4, which ministers have indicated is a prime candidate to be privatised more than three decades after its launch.

As the body responsible for appointing Channel 4's chair, Ofcom recently placed a recruitment advertisement which fired the starting gun on the process.

Mr Hill, who previously ran the Financial Times Group, has also served as a Channel 4 board member, as well as running Betfair during a spectacular period of growth.

He now runs his family investment company.

The other candidate to have declared his interest in the role is Mark Price, the soon-to-depart head of Waitrose, who is Channel 4's current deputy chairman.

The race to replace Lord Burns comes amid tensions between the broadcaster of Hollyoaks and Whitehall officials over preparations for a potential sell-off.

Both Lord Burns and David Abraham, Channel 4's chief executive, publicly oppose the move, arguing that it will damage Britain's broadcasting diversity for little financial gain.

"It’s very difficult to see what the financial benefit is for the government, whereas it is possible to see some of the harm that could be created for the whole creative sector in the UK," Lord Burns said in an interview with The Guardian last month.

A sale of Channel 4 could raise more than £1bn, with rival broadcasters and private equity groups already drawing up plans to bid for the company, whose best-known programmes include Hollyoaks and Made (Paris: FR0010328302 - news) in Chelsea.

Lord Burns was effectively ousted by ministers several weeks ago when they vetoed an attempt by the media regulator Ofcom - which has oversight of the appointment - to retain him for an additional year.

Ofcom, the media regulator, had recommended that Lord Burns be granted an extension when his term expires in less than four months' time, but that argument was rejected by ministers who are keen to explore a sale of Channel 4.

In September, a confidential document was photographed outlining preparations for a formal review by the Government of Channel 4's status as a not-for-profit public service broadcaster (PSB).

Lord Burns had been keen to examine the possibility of turning Channel 4 into a mutual or charitable trust which retained its PSB remit.

Channel 4 and Ofcom are now discussing a move for Mr Price to take over as the organisation's acting chairman at the end of January.

The role of permanent chairman was advertised recently with a remit to "guide the organisation through a period of substantial change in the sector".

The private document sent during the autumn to John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, and Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, referred to work "to examine the options for extracting greater public value from the Channel 4 Corporation, focusing on privatisation options in particular".

One official with knowledge of the document's contents said that it outlined alternatives including privatising Channel 4 with or without the restrictions of its PSB remit, and pursuing the charitable trust idea.

During the last parliament, plans to sell Channel 4 were raised by Conservative ministers but were abandoned after Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary, blocked the move.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: "Stephen Hill stepped down from the Ofcom Board last month to pursue other opportunities."

Mr Hill could not be reached for comment.