Factual indie Proper Content is to close after ten years, saying the lack of commissioning risk has left mid-sized producers “stuck” with no way to grow.
Founded by David DeHaney [main picture] in 2016, Proper Content joined the Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund in 2020 and as recently as 2024 had more than doubled its turnover year-on-year to £4.2m.
But DeHaney said today: “The reality is that the market has changed dramatically in recent years. Commissioning budgets have tightened, development cycles have lengthened, and the opportunities for growing indies to scale have become increasingly limited.
“Those pressures have affected many companies across the sector and have undoubtedly contributed to the position we find ourselves in today.”
Ahead of an administrator winding up the company, DeHaney said he wanted to minimise the impact on freelancers, staff, buyers and collaborators.
Proper Content produced a string of acclaimed documentaries and series over the past decade, primarily for Channel 4, BBC3 and 5, with an emphasis on diversity and social issues.
Notable shows included Grierson-winning doc Suicidal: In Our Own Words (5), Bafta-winning The School That Tried to End Racism (Channel 4); P Diddy: Rise and Fall (BBC3); Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? (C4); and recent feature-length doc Kidnapped By My Mum (BBC3).
Upcoming shows, including a surgery series for 5 and a luxury series for C4, will air later this year as planned.
“As a growing indie, we couldn’t have done more,” said DeHaney. “Yet, for a company like ours, at this stage in its development, going to the next stage is incredibly challenging.
“There simply isn’t the commissioning risk, or the time or space to let companies stretch their wings in new ways. And, as a result, companies get ‘stuck’ – which doesn’t feel like a good, or a creative, place to be.”
Dehaney, a former director of factual at Firecracker Films who has also worked for Nutopia and Love Productions, said he was weighing up other options within the industry.
“While Proper Content is coming to an end, my passion for storytelling and creating ambitious new projects remains undiminished. I am excited about what comes next.”
