A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION CONTENT AND PLATFORMS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

A FUTURE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION
collection of small producers has today been
transformed into an industry of real scale and
power. The Thatcher government admired the
entrepreneurialism of the independent sector
and rewarded it when the 1990 Broadcasting
Act brought in a new system of production
quotas for the BBC and ITV. The industry
was given another major boost by the 2003
Communications Act, which greatly enhanced
producers’ terms of trade with broadcasters,
allowing them to hold on to more of the
rights to their programmes. Producers have
also benefited from the expansion in demand
represented by new channels, international
business and video-on-demand services.
In recent years, the sector has seen significant
consolidation: there are fewer producers,
and some of them have got a lot bigger. The
total number of producers with at least one
programme broadcast by a public service
channel has fallen from 442 in 2006 to
259 in 2014. 190 Channel 4 used only half as
many suppliers in 2014 as it had done eight
years earlier. 191 In 2001, only 11 producers had
revenues of more than £10 million; by 2014, 33
had producers reached that level, while 11 had
UK revenues of more than £50 million (up
from two in 2001) and five exceeded £100
million. 192
The largest companies are now mostly
the subsidiaries of major international
corporations. Seven of the top 10 producers
in 2014 were foreign owned; five did not
qualify as independent for quota purposes
as they were at least part-owned by
broadcasters. 193 This top 10 accounted for
66% of all UK external production revenues
in 2014, up from 45% in 2003 and from just
19% in 1993. 194 Their parent companies include
some of the biggest US media groups.
Endemol Shine, the biggest UK producer
after the BBC and ITV, is 50%-owned by
21st Century Fox (the biggest shareholder in
Sky), while Discovery and Liberty Global (the
owner of Virgin Media) are the joint owners
of the next biggest producer, All3Media.
NBC Universal and Time Warner are also
represented in the top 10. 195
This is no cottage industry any more, and
one might question to what extent it needs
any protection or further nurturing. Indeed
it could be argued that we now have a far
more export-oriented independent sector
whose inclination is to minimise risk and
work with tried and tested formats. As
the independent producer Natasha Cox
argued in her submission, this emphasis
on profitable formats “is a cause for alarm
for public service content, as increased
competition and a focus on international sales
is arguably stunting creative freedoms.” 196
Enders Analysis too acknowledge that while
consolidation may be especially beneficial for
the ‘super-indies’, “there is an inherent risk
that these same companies will consider how
any new idea may sit with a global audience,
rather than with a UK-specific audience.” 197
190
Ofcom, Review of the operation of the television production sector, 2015, p. 20.
191
Ibid., p. 25. From “around 200” producers in 2006 to “around 100” in 2014.
192
Ibid., data combined from p. 2, and p. 17.
193
Ibid., p. 18.
194
Ibid.
195
Ibid. for the full list.
196
Natasha Cox, submission to the Inquiry.
197
Enders Analysis, Channel 4 market impact, January 5, 2016.
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