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HAVE YOU BEEN 'BETWEEN JOBS' FOR LONGER THAN USUAL? (POLL) TV Freelancers are talking anecdotally about the apparent production 'drought', in various threads and chats. So I thought a show of hands might be interesting and give a little reassurance that, at least, others are feeling it too. (*other users won't see what you... Read more

HAVE YOU BEEN 'BETWEEN JOBS' FOR LONGER THAN USUAL? (POLL)
TV Freelancers are talking anecdotally about the apparent production 'drought', in various threads and chats. So I thought a show of hands might be interesting and give a little reassurance that, at least, others are feeling it too. (*other users won't see what you clicked!*)

@TalentManager – does your user traffic reveal a slowdown in the industry? And are there any signs of things picking up?

Edited on 12th Apr 2023 17:28pm

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Sarah Lee @ The Talent Manager

@MattAinsworth There are less jobs 'posted' yr to date compared to this time last year and less recruiter searching too. However there are green shoots! Last week the number of jobs rose dramatically and although they have declined slightly again this week we often find a slowdown in school holidays when lots of TalentManagers are off. Anecdotally too I have heard from other Heads of Productions that things are begining to warm up again. Lets hope so. We know its been tough for freelancers

3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

@SarahLee Thank you for sharing this info Sarah - it's the first 'official' confirmation of the situation in unscripted production that I've read. Freelancers have been murmuring about it for some time but as ever, we can feel quite detached from the bigger industry-wide picture. It would be great to hear from some indies, willing to put their head above the parapet and mention how things are going from their standpoint

3 years ago

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Serena Fyvie

I'm still looking to get a foot in the door of TV. As a career changer with working class roots and a huge student debt after returning to full time study to improve my career choices, the opportunities don't seem to be there.

3 years ago

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Annette Gordon

@SerenaFyvie they aren't. It is a very hard life to sustain. You're likely to be out of work several months a year. Even the most experienced of us go through this. The work is almost seasonal too as most filming takes place spring/Summer and sometimes in Autumn so there's always a chunk of time over the winter when nothing happens. Couple that with the tax year which affects broadcasters commissioning programmes and even Spring can be lean. It is tough.

3 years ago

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Serena Fyvie

@AnnetteGordon Thank you. I do juggle more than one job as it is, so as long as know I can budget.

3 years ago

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Jason Rosette

I recognize that graphic :)

3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

@JasonRosette ah, yes, credit to Jason for the poll image. i might have borrowed it from your poll, a few days ago, for consistency! Plus thought it was such a good idea. Did you make the graphic? I didnt intend to nick it if you did

3 years ago

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Jason Rosette

@MattAinsworth No problem - I grabbed it from Duck Duck Go, thought it was 'catchy' :)

3 years ago

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Jason Rosette

@MattAinsworth ... but if there were a credit listed I would have listed it, could not locate one

3 years ago

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Josh Key

Any thoughts on what's behind this long tail winter freeze in unscripted production? My guess and that's all it is, would be that advertisers are nervous about the economy so commercial channels are tightening their belts. Likewise, after huge pushes, streamers are chalking up losses and pulling back on content funding too.

Drama in the UK seems to be Booming but factual/ unscripted is having a hard time, is there less of a market for it overall?

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

Hi Josh. I've been pulling together a few press articles, to try and throw light on what freelancers are seeing. The factors u mention all come up. They were predicted towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year. Although I have not found any recent views on it from indies or industry bodies connected with factual TV.
The Talent Manager's observation of a drop in recruitment ads and searches is the first public acknowledgment that I've seen of a slowdown...

3 years ago

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Josh Key

@MattAinsworth Thanks Matt, I'm coming back after a career break and it is the quietest I've seen it in a long time.

On top of the economic situation potentially being a factor, I do worry that there might just be less appetite for specialist factual now. The trend in this genre seems to be a few Mega budget productions and several low budget/high volume series. The mid-range projects which I cut my teeth on 20 years ago sadly seem to be a thing of the past.

3 years ago

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Jyoti Mehta

@MattAinsworth Yes, broadly a radio silence from the industry leaders at large. On a forum elsewhere, I was struck by how, in contrast, the APA (Advertising Producers Association) reached out to their members to empathetically and responsibly address their concerns, offer theories on why it is as it is, and what steps their members could take to adapt and find new opportunities in this time. There's a good leadership lesson in this....

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

Hi @JyotiMehta - good to say hi here - I know we both contributed to a similar discussion on Facebook. The APA statement was very forthcoming and the situation in that sector sounds really difficult - and possibly has been evident for quite a lot longer the apparent slowdown we're now seeing in factual/unscripted. It's MIPTV this week - I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the bigwig conversations there - see if it's something they're murmuring about to each other too!

3 years ago

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Nick Watson

@JoshKey This was actually the brief from Nat Geo for quite a while - big stuff which could cut through got all the money. Maybe it will change under the new leadership. It does seem very quiet at the moment. Development is always a slow process, but seems even slower right now.

3 years ago

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Josh Key

@NickWatson Thanks Nick, You’re right and it has indeed been the case for a while. I guess they are going for stuff that’s going to generate buzz and draw subscribers. I can’t see that changing in the near future. I fear there are just less specialist factual projects to be won out there now.

3 years ago

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Gavin Boyd

As a Freelancer this time last year I was turning down work because of how busy I was then boom, November came and I have struggled since. Only a hand full of small jobs and as a Drone Pilot too rained off! Im still repaying my new Sony FS7 Mark 2 kit and barely keeping my head afloat.

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Nick Watts

The winter have been dead as a dodo, I was worried it was just me but starting to hear the same from everyone. However, I'm hoping the end is in sight - I've had more CV downloads in past two weeks than Jan, Feb & March combined

3 years ago

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Charlie Robinson

two words - Liz Truss

3 years ago

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Annette Gordon

@CharlieRobinson Yeah, with bells on. She and Kwasi Kwarteng toasted the economy.

3 years ago

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Preshita Saha

Thanks for posting this Matt. It's reassuring to read as I've just relocated to the UK with 9 years of unscripted experience and I've only managed to get one small job in the last 2 months. Hoping for things to pick up!

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Dom Bowles

Serena - I hate to be discouraging, but I'd think twice about getting into the industry. It's not something I say lightly as I've loved every second of my career but things are getting harder year on year. I've been in the industry for 25 years and have never known it to be as bad as it has this year

3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

Folk might be interested in this article in Broadcast - which explains or at least seems to confirm what's behind the work drought that so many freelancers are experiencing. The headline summarises the article - a drop in mid-scale factual commissions - as discussed by various factual indie head-honchos. The article is paywalled but you can sign up for free & get 4 free articles. Link & headline in comment below

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

INDIES RAISE CONCERNS OVER MID-MARKET SQUEEZE.
Fears over dwindling appetite for mid-priced shows as broadcasters focus more on cut-through or low-price content
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcast-magazine/broadcast-indie-summit-indies-raise-concerns-over-mid-market-squeeze/5181321.article

3 years ago

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Josh Key

@MattAinsworth Thanks Matt. I hope the current mid-market drought is just a trend - but I fear that with the way the industry is changing, it may well be the new normal, which would have a massive impact on the factual sector.

3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

@JoshKey Agreed - it is worrying. And the Broadcast article seems to be saying pretty much what you were suggesting in your comment above, from a couple weeks ago. Part of me thinks we can't really be looking at losing this type of factual content - it's been part of our tv landscape forever - and so important culturally. But things do seem to be pointing that way.

3 years ago

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Josh Key

@MattAinsworth I couldn't agree more, The UK is great at producing factual programmes which is why so many of our production companies have been favoured by the US networks and streamers (that and the fact that we are non-union!). Sadly with the exception of the BBC all the commercial broadcasters and SVODs are ratings and data-driven and I worry that they get more eyeballs investing in drama and entrainment. I fear that outside of big-budget projects, true crime and paranormal,shows....

3 years ago

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Josh Key

@JoshKey ...they are reluctant to put money into much else. The writing has been on the wall for a while but I am more convinced that it might be time to pivot to a new sector or genre as I just don't think the work is going to be there for a while. It’s a great shame as we will lose a big part of what makes UK and UK-produced TV so great. Sorry if this sounds negative everyone.

3 years ago Edited 3 years ago

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Matt Ainsworth

ARTICLE: Bectu Declares “Emergency” In Freelance TV Community Due To “Unprecedented” Lack Of Work

https://deadline.com/2023/05/uk-union-bectu-declares-emergency-in-freelance-tv-community-due-to-unprecedented-lack-of-work-1235368517/amp/

Posting in this convo too.
Good to see BECTU recognising in such strong terms the situation many freelancers have been aware of for some time.

Though I think there will be lots of people who have been out of work since well before January

3 years ago

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