Category Archives: Public Service Broadcasting

Public Service Broadcasting – contestable funds under threat?

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Paul Evans

The dust has long settled on the Public Service Broadcasting Contestable Funds Consultation [pdf] from 2016 (the outgoing culture team were fairly keen on them but Nadine Dorries may not be), and the Times [£] has a worrying set of … Continue reading →

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Yet another big streamer eyes European markets

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

This time, it’s Paramount +. “In the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA), for example, Paramount Plus will launch on Sky platforms. Craig explained that according to the deal, Paramount Plus and Comcast/ViacomCBS streaming co-venture SkyShowtime will be … Continue reading →

Posted in EU & Brexit, Film & TV industry policy, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

French cultural policy

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

France has always had an interesting, and different approach to cultural policy to the UK’s equivalent. In thinking about this last night, I remembered this 2013 document [pdf] from the Coalition Francaise and I thought I’d bookmark it here. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright & Intellectual Property, Culture policy, Diversity of representation, Film & TV industry policy, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Tax incentives | Tagged , | Leave a comment

More on UK/US unscripted production partnerships

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Paul Evans

Futher to the recent post about Netflix partnerships with UK PSBs, NBC Universal has also done an unscripted formats deal with the BBC.

Posted in Factual & Entertainment sector data, Film & TV industry data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Free database of legal developments in the Europen audiovisual sector

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Paul Evans

This one is probably only useful to massive geeks (hi!) but I’m telling you about it anyway just in case you find it useful. The European Audiovisual Observatory maintains a database of legal developments in all key areas, all key … Continue reading →

Posted in Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD, Tax incentives | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Costs of streaming services relative to the TV licence fee

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Paul Evans

Tim Davie has been talking to the DCMS select committee yesterday about the licence fee. Some highlights: “Netflix, Spotify, Apple – price rises of 20-30% this year, we have gone up 1% this year.” There’s a useful summary of SVoD … Continue reading →

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The Cultural Diversity arguments against Channel Four privatisation

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Paul Evans

The UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity (UKCCD) have published their submission to the consultation on Channel Four privatisation here [pdf]. It makes a key point that should concern Bectu members who are concerned about the quality of the content that … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry policy, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD, UK studios | Tagged , | Leave a comment

French windows (excuse the pun)

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Paul Evans

There are a few posts up here about how content regulation drives investment into film and TV, how the AVMS Directive is translated into national legislation and regulations, and on the general armoury that national governments have to shape the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD, Tax incentives | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

BBC Chair warns against further cuts

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

From the FT [£], BBC Chair Richard Sharp warned that the licence fee must keep pace with inflation, pointing out that management (currently working towards savings of almost £1bn by next March had gone as far as they could: ““The … Continue reading →

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talkTV signs Piers Morgan in a new twist to the news impartiality story

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

Following Andrew Neil’s departure from GB News, the old line about how… The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese … may be relevant again. Rupert Murdoch’s News UK group (headed up by Rebekah Brooks) … Continue reading →

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BBC Three relaunch as a full TV channel provisionally approved by Ofcom – EPG consultation to follow

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

Big news for us today. pic.twitter.com/eQ1xfgkP1T — BBC Three (@bbcthree) September 16, 2021 The channel has had a good run recently with Fleabag and Normal People and in noting Ofcom’s provision approval, the regulator said:

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“Ten Culture Secretaries in ten years. We need a grown-up dialogue with government” – Davie

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

From Tim Davie’s speech at day two of the Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge: “We’re on 10 culture secretaries in last 10 years… the key thing I found is we need a really serious, grown-up dialogue with government to … Continue reading →

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The Lovely Jubbly Telly Rule – and will Channel Four privatisation go ahead?

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

In an interesting twist to the cultural diversity on the screen debate, as UK-commissioned productions sector face a perfect storm that could threaten the UK’s long-established ability to produce TV content, written by UK writers, featuring UK actors and locations, … Continue reading →

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Ampere Analysis – strong case against privatisation of Channel Four

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

A strong thread here from Ampere Analysis, and a detailed report of their findings is here in The Guardian. Ampere has assessed a range of potential options surrounding the privatisation of @Channel4. Here is what we found: — Ampere Analysis … Continue reading →

Posted in Factual & Entertainment sector data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, Sports rights and broadcasting, SVoD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Channel Four privatisation: Advertisers voice concerns about damaged competitiveness

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

… particularly if sold to ITV or Sky. The FT [£] reports… “Isba [Incorporated Society of British Advertisers] also said there was a “substantial risk” that Channel 4 programming appealing to a young and diverse audience would be “diluted and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, Public Service Broadcasting, Regulation, SVoD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Is UK audiovisual content about to hit a perfect storm?

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Paul Evans

I’d suggest that there is an emerging picture of where UK production is likely to head in the next few years, and it’s one that should worry us – particularly from the point of view of cultural diversity (which is … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax incentives, UK studios | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How AVMS applies in every EU country

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Paul Evans

The Audio Visual Media Services (AVMS) Directive, like all EU Directives, is translated into national legislation and regulation by the member states concerned. The European Audiovisual Observatory tracks all of this on this table here. (H/T Carole Tongue for the … Continue reading →

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Cultural Diversity is not just about limiting discrimination – it’s an economic and industrial factor

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s worth bookmarking Unesco’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions here. This is an important global statement on the need for cultural expressions to be produced, distributed, and owned ‘locally’ (in the Nations and … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Disability equality, Diversity of representation, Economics, Equality, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Gender equality, Gender representation, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Race equality, Regulation, SVoD, Tax incentives, UK studios, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Study on financial investment obligations placed on VOD providers in Europe.

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Paul Evans

This, from Dr Marlen Komorowski of Cardiff University for the The Media & Society Programme of SMIT. It looks at the way VOD providers are subject to various financial investment obligations (one of the key forms of regulation and incentive … Continue reading →

Posted in EU & Brexit, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD, Tax incentives | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Channel Four privatisation – picking though the arguments

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Paul Evans

Yesterday’s FT [£] had a useful reminder of the objections to Channel Four privatisation, or more accurately, a critique of the reasons for privatising the channel. The sale has a number of objectives: Making the broadcaster more sustainable. John Whittingdale … Continue reading →

Posted in Factual & Entertainment sector data, Film & TV industry data, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Regulation, SVoD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ofcom shenanigans – update

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Paul Evans

The film and TV industries, it’s probably true to say that it’s more important to beat regulators than it is to beat competitors. If a regulator has a particular set of prejudices, it can be very bad for the industry … Continue reading →

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Theatre Tax Relief paid out £74 million to 3,660 productions last year

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

According to The Stage [£]… “This represents a £3 million increase on the figure paid out in 2019/20, which was £71 million, and comes amid calls for the tax credit to be increased to help the sector recover after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation & VFX, Culture policy, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax, Tax incentives, Theatre and Live Events data | Tagged | Leave a comment

Edinburgh TV Festival debates C4 sell-off

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

Broadcast has a report here [£]. In a statement that my be dismissed as hyperbole, John Thoday of Avalon says C4 privatisation will “kill the indie sector” and calls for the government to give C4 in it’s current form a … Continue reading →

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Government deliberately delaying decisions about appointments to Channel 4’s board

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

According to the Times, @StewartPurvis, who stepped down as board member of Channel 4 says the Govt is deliberately delaying decisions about appointments to Channel 4’s board because it wants to install people sympathetic to privatisation pic.twitter.com/GbkVMLClEc — Joe Public … Continue reading →

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Channel 4 and mutual ownership – Labour proposal

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Paul Evans

There have been quite a few posts on here already about C4 privatisation. This is an interesting twist, from The Co-operative Party (sister-party to the UK Labour Party) – proposing that control of Channel 4 could (via Broadcast [£]) be … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry policy, Ownership & Control, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, SVoD | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

BBC at Elstree update

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Paul Evans

There was a post here recently about the Elstree Studios site (power struggle, lots of expansion, council involved in a row, etc), but the term ‘Elstree Studios’ is a cause of substantial confusion (not least because it’s quite common for … Continue reading →

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Oxford Media Convention debate on Channel Four privatisation

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Paul Evans
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More on Channel Four privatisation

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Paul Evans

In 2016 (the last time it was mooted) Patrick Barwise and Gillian Brooks were commissioned by Channel 4 to write a report entitled ‘The Consequences of Privatising Channel 4′ [pdf] all of which may prove useful to anyone responding to … Continue reading →

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Karen Bradley and David Olusoga on Channel Four privatisation

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Paul Evans

Firstly, there’s this from Tory former Culture Secretary Karen Bradley(£) – here. “…as culture secretary in 2017, I conducted a review into this very issue. That review found that Channel 4 has a significant positive impact on life in the … Continue reading →

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British content projecting Britain

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Paul Evans

I’ll be posting more on this in the coming weeks, but there are some very big concerns circulating even in Conservative circles about the potential damage that the UK could sustain due to changes in the film and TV industry. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation & VFX, BBC, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Culture policy, EU & Brexit, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax incentives, The Conservative Party, UK studios | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

“Gogglebox presents people like us and is made in Britain for Britain”

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Paul Evans

I knew I’d seen a good defence of Channel 4’s Public Service Broadcaster remit, but I couldn’t remember where until I visited the VLV website earlier and saw this [pdf] from Channel 4’s CEO Alex Mahon. “Online business cannot fill … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, SVoD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scottish government opposes Channel 4 sell-off

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Paul Evans

The Scottish government is opposing the sell-off of Channel 4. The broadcaster has spent more than £200m on Scottish commissions since 2007 In 2020 it spent £19m in Scotland Channel 4’s features and daytime team is based in Glasgow The … Continue reading →

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BBC & Channel 4’s contribution to the UK economy

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

Channel 4 recently published a study by Ernst and Young of the Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy [pdf]  from their activity. This report focuses on the contribution to the Nations and Regions of the UK and concludes … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Economics, Employment, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, Productivity, Public Service Broadcasting | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ofcom calls for stronger system of public service media fit for the digital age

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

A strong position from Ofcom here – particularly in the current climate (with C4 privatisation firmly on the table) “Public service content matters – but it’s under increasing threat.” From the Ofcom site: “Ofcom is today recommending a radical overhaul … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Opposing the privatisation of Channel 4

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

Bectu members (and everyone else) is encouraged to support the union’s campaign against the privatisation of Channel 4 and the union has a template letter that can be sent to MPs here. Please bookmark that page as it may have … Continue reading →

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