Banijay label Initial has been named the best production company to work for in Broadcast’s annual survey of employers and staff.
The Big Brother indie, which coproduces Amazon Prime’s Last One Laughing UK [main picture] with sister label Zeppotron, topped the Best Places to Work in TV 2026 list ahead of 31 other indies.
The London-based producer employs 30 full-time staff and said in its entry that, like its shows, its corporate ethos is “embedded with humour and heart”.
It also pointed to its Brightbulb Internal Development Intern Scheme, a 12-week paid programme that supports eight people through their first role in TV, as well as its partnership with Amazon Prime for the Step Up to Executive Producer scheme.
Fellow Banijay label Dragonfly Film & Television - which was crowned number one in 2019 - made the top 10 for the tenth consecutive year since the survey started.
Its continuing success was due in part to its positive relationship with freelancers, who are involved in monthly staff get-togethers and are offered long contracts on returning series Ambulance and Surgeons: At the End of Life.
Director of operations Alison Seymour also acknowledged that during the pandemic in 2020, the company kept on freelancers and furloughed staff.
“That was tricky,” she said. “Because it’s hard to tell someone with a staff job that they’re getting a reduction in pay and not going to come to work for the benefit of someone who’s freelance. But they did understand – in the end, it wasn’t for long, although of course you don’t know that at the time.”
The report also features seven TV companies from outside the production space, with post-house The Finishing Line leading for the second consecutive year.
The top ten indies to work for, according to this year’s list, are:
