The Financial Times has reported that the BBC and Channel 4 are once again in early talks to merge their streaming operations, with the aim of creating a British "sovereign platform" capable of competing with global giants such as Netflix. New BBC boss Matt Brittin told the government that the broadcaster has "had a discussion with Channel 4" about a possible streaming tie-up, or at least bringing some Channel 4 content onto BBC iPlayer. The move matters because UK public service broadcasters fear being swept aside by far larger American and international rivals unless they pool resources and scale.

Brittin cautioned that the talks remain at an early stage and that an "array of commercial, audience, public service and technical issues" would need to be resolved, while stressing that the likes of Netflix, TikTok and YouTube demonstrate the importance of being big enough to survive. The article notes this is at least the third such attempt: in 2007 the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV developed Project Kangaroo, a service offering 10,000 hours of on-demand content, only for regulators to block it over competition concerns; and in 2017 the BBC and ITV launched BritBox, which faded after ITV pulled its content under the ITVX banner in 2024. The report also situates the discussions alongside wider consolidation in the sector, including Sky's move to buy ITV.