Showdown between TG4 and producers over rights
TV likes a bit of drama and I hear that a row between TG4 and independent television producers has been escalating in recent months.
The disagreement between the Irishlanguage station and representative body Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) centres on rights to programming. TG4 wants the rights to material its commissions to be “in perpetuity” but some programme makers think that’s a tad too long. And little wonder with shows such as Western An Klondike being picked up by Netflix.
The preference for SPI would be for the rights to span five years, after which time they revert to the producers. This row is exacerbated by the fact that TG4 has not signed up to the Code of Fair Trading Practice, which applies to shows where a public service broadcaster has contributed 25pc or more of the costs. The regulator, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), can’t force the Irish-language station to sign up but would very much like to see it adopt the code.
However, TG4 has a different take on the whole rights issue. It believes that it has a role in preserving programming made in a minority language and some earlier material has already been lost. So it wants to see a longer-term relationship built into contracts.
The BAI has offered to help facilitate discussions and the body is confident a solution will be met.