This piece published in Broadcast from Derek Drennan @Nest Productions is absolutely spot on! Well done Derek.Last week’s budget had great news for HETV, but other areas of the industry are feeling a little... Read more
This piece published in Broadcast from Derek Drennan @Nest Productions is absolutely spot on! Well done Derek.
Last week’s budget had great news for HETV, but other areas of the industry are feeling a little neglected
It was widely assumed that the entire industry was thrilled last week when the Chancellor said: “We have become Europe’s largest film and TV production centre, at the current rate of expansion, we will be second only to Hollywood globally by the end for 2025.”
Derek Drennan Nest headshot
But I’m not sure I was all that thrilled. I have no doubt that PACT and the BFI and many others did a sterling job securing the additional tax break of 40%, which is no mean feat and apparently took years to sort. I have no doubt it will be extremely helpful to the HETV and film industry and, in turn, the economy. I also appreciate that the scripted sector has also struggled in the past year.
But the ‘hurrahs’ heard all over social media overlook a significant portion of the unscripted landscape, including reality, factual-entertainment and observational documentaries – all of which, in my opinion, make up the backbone of the TV industry.
The unscripted landscape was like a desert last year and there remains a palpable sense of neglect from the rest of the industry – a prime example of how snobbery is still rife in the creative industries.
In an industry where 75% of freelancers in unscripted find themselves out of work and numerous production companies are grappling with uncertainty, the lack of financial support does ring big alarm bells. People are leaving in their droves. I do often worry if things ever pick up again, will there be enough people left?
The recent closure of powerhouse production companies like RDF (RIP) and hearing of redundancies now pretty much every day, paints a sobering picture of the unscripted sector.
The production costs associated with making (decent) reality TV averages around £300K per episode, which are pale in comparison to the budgets in high-end TV starting at £1m an hour – but the economic significance of unscripted content cannot be underestimated.
HETV shows like The Crown are a joy for the government of course – they garner prestige for the UK, accolades and help to drive the economy, all of which is brilliant. But reality shows such as Love Island, TOWIE and Made in Chelsea do still command big numbers in terms of viewership (believe it or not) and have cultural relevance, as well as bringing in revenue and creating many jobs for the freelance community. Simply ignoring the economic and cultural contributions of unscripted does a massive disservice to everyone.
Last week’s budget had great news for HETV, but other areas of the industry are feeling a little neglected
It was widely assumed that the entire industry was thrilled last week when the Chancellor said: “We have become Europe’s largest film and TV production centre, at the current rate of expansion, we will be second only to Hollywood globally by the end for 2025.”
Derek Drennan Nest headshot
But I’m not sure I was all that thrilled. I have no doubt that PACT and the BFI and many others did a sterling job securing the additional tax break of 40%, which is no mean feat and apparently took years to sort. I have no doubt it will be extremely helpful to the HETV and film industry and, in turn, the economy. I also appreciate that the scripted sector has also struggled in the past year.
But the ‘hurrahs’ heard all over social media overlook a significant portion of the unscripted landscape, including reality, factual-entertainment and observational documentaries – all of which, in my opinion, make up the backbone of the TV industry.
The unscripted landscape was like a desert last year and there remains a palpable sense of neglect from the rest of the industry – a prime example of how snobbery is still rife in the creative industries.
In an industry where 75% of freelancers in unscripted find themselves out of work and numerous production companies are grappling with uncertainty, the lack of financial support does ring big alarm bells. People are leaving in their droves. I do often worry if things ever pick up again, will there be enough people left?
The recent closure of powerhouse production companies like RDF (RIP) and hearing of redundancies now pretty much every day, paints a sobering picture of the unscripted sector.
The production costs associated with making (decent) reality TV averages around £300K per episode, which are pale in comparison to the budgets in high-end TV starting at £1m an hour – but the economic significance of unscripted content cannot be underestimated.
HETV shows like The Crown are a joy for the government of course – they garner prestige for the UK, accolades and help to drive the economy, all of which is brilliant. But reality shows such as Love Island, TOWIE and Made in Chelsea do still command big numbers in terms of viewership (believe it or not) and have cultural relevance, as well as bringing in revenue and creating many jobs for the freelance community. Simply ignoring the economic and cultural contributions of unscripted does a massive disservice to everyone.
In this absolute uncertain madness, it is increasingly evident to me that something as simple as a tax break for unscripted could be a massive game-changer.
So has unscripted been the forgotten child in all this? I think so.