Zeiler: C4, Five merger "makes sense"

Gerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of Five parent RTL Group, has said it "makes sense" for the channel to be merged with Channel 4.

In a Financial Times op-ed, Zeiler wrote that the channels "share many characteristics" and that a merger has "long-term industrial logic".

"Both are funded by advertising, both commission programmes from outside producers rather than making them in-house and both are reliant on a mix of home-grown and acquired programming," wrote Zeiler. "A merger that brings together two such complementary broadcasters would create a much stronger operator."

Last week, Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan dismissed such a suggestion after it was put forward by BBC director general Mark Thompson as a way of sustaining public service broadcasting through the digital transition.

Zeiler suggested that a merger between the two broadcasters would constitute a public-private partnership: "With this merger, the future of both as public service channels with their own identities would be guaranteed, delivering real benefits to the public while standing on their own two feet commercially. It would also lead to a more balanced television landscape – but one that would still be far more diversified than any other in Europe.

"Such a proposal makes particular sense at the present time. Throughout the business world we are witnessing extraordinary events as public/private partnerships are forged across sectors from rail to housing to banking. If the government can be a main shareholder in several of the leading banks, why would it not consider a public/private partnership in broadcasting?"

Ofcom's report into the future of public service broadcasting will be published on Wednesday, while another report from communications minister Lord Carter on Britain's overall digital migration plan will emerge next week.