Independent TV producers at risk in Channel 4 U-turn
INDEPENDENT film and TV producers have warned their future could still be under threat after government plans to privatise Channel 4 were abandoned.
Jane Muirhead, chairman of industry body Pact, said plans to give the broadcaster more commercial flexibility could lead to the “same damaging outcome” as privatisation if proper protections were not put in place.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan yesterday confirmed that the Government will not sell Channel 4, marking a sharp reversal from the policy pursued by Boris Johnson’s administration.
Pact (Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television) was a key voice in the campaign against privatisation, warning that dozens of production firms could collapse if a sale went ahead.
But ministers instead plan to relax the channel’s so-called “publisherbroadcaster” status, which bans it from producing its own programmes. That will allow Channel 4 to set up its own studio operations, a move that risks diverting investment away from the UK’S thriving independent sector.
Many smaller companies rely heavily on commissions from the youthfocused broadcaster, founded under Margaret Thatcher in 1982.
John Mcvay, chief executive of Pact, said while the sector was relieved that privatisation plans have been shelved, the prospect of in-house production was a “fly in the ointment”. He said: “The potential negative outcome is that if Channel 4 were allowed to do this at scale and quickly, in order to make space in the schedule for their own in-house production, they would cancel other people’s work.”
Mr Mcvay said such cuts were unlikely to affect bigger shows such as Gogglebox and The Great British Bake Off, but rather smaller and less profitable programmes. He added that losing a Channel 4 commission would be a “double whammy” as both income from the show and secondary revenues from intellectual property would be lost.
The Government said it will work closely with the production sector to ensure Channel 4’s role in driving investment is safeguarded.
It said measures could be taken such as increasing the independent production quota from its level of 25pc or introducing specific protections for smaller producers, adding that any changes would be introduced gradually. Channel 4 said: “We will contribute constructively to these discussions.”