Almost every UK television production company has urged the next prime minister to abandon the sale of Channel 4, arguing ministers should focus on the cost of living crisis rather than the “unpopular” privatisation. An open letter, signed by 768 independent television and film producers, warns that a sale will damage their businesses, damage levelling up efforts, and cause a distraction for the country at an uncertain economic time. The letter, sent to Liz Truss and her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak, highlighted how Margaret Thatcher founded Channel 4 in 1982 with the aim of encouraging new independent production companies to challenge the BBC and ITV. The production companies said Channel 4 had been a success story and asked: “What better way to honour Margaret Thatcher’s legacy than to uphold the very organisation she set up?” Boris Johnson’s government has proposed to sell Channel 4 to a private owner, arguing it is too small to survive on its own. The broadcaster – supported by almost the entire British media industry – insists its finances are healthy amid suggestions the sale is motivated by ideological opposition to Channel 4’s output. With Truss predicted to be confirmed as the new prime minister on Monday, Channel 4 bosses are nervously awaiting the announcement of her cabinet, which is likely to indicate whether privatisation is still on the cards. The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, who has been pushing for the sale of Channel 4, is a strong backer of Truss and is likely to remain in a top ministerial post. Keeping Dorries in her current job would suggest privatisation is still on the cards. By contrast, a change in culture secretary could make it easier to U-turn on the plan. Truss has not issued a firm position on the sale of Channel 4 but told the Yorkshire Post last month that she believes it is “best to have companies operating in the private sector, rather than the public sector”. However, she pledged that any new owner would be required to maintain Channel 4’s newly opened satellite office in Leeds – potentially making the broadcaster a less attractive purchase to commercial for-profit buyers. The conundrum facing Channel 4 is whether ambivalence among Conservative MPs works in their favour. One school of thought is that a Truss government won’t want to spend weeks on a divisive debate about Channel 4 privatisation when the country is struggling with high energy bills. However, for similar reasons, Conservative MPs won’t want to rebel and spend parliamentary time trying to block the privatisation if voters want them to focus on the cost of living crisis. Signatories to the open letter, organised by television industry group Pact, range from industry giants such as Endemol Shine and All3Media to small companies with just a handful of staff.