Producers’ trade body, Pact, is arguing that Ofcom’s proposals to revise guidance for Public Service Broadcaster’s Commissioning Codes of Practice will “extinguish the growth of the UK independent TV production sector.”
Pact says it is concerned that Ofcom’s proposals could “potentially damage the successful UK independent TV production sector that has grown from £1.5billion to £3.8billion since the Codes were introduced in 2003.” Pact says that the proposals, if implemented, “will contradict the Government’s ambition to grow the UK economy, with the creative industries a key part of their growth plan.”
Pact is arguing that despite the emergence of global streaming services since the Terms of Trade were first put in place, the PSBs “remain dominant in the UK market, representing 83% of demand in 2023.”
Pact is particularly concerned that Ofcom is proposing to remove the prohibitions on the PSBs to seek ‘matching rights’ and that there should be no terms in contracts that make the deal conditional on the producer’s acceptance of a bundled deal. Pact argues the removal of these prohibitions “represents a fundamental change from the previous guidance and will impact the balance of negotiating power between the producer and the PSB, impacting on production financing and ultimately stifling competition and the growth of the sector.”
Pact argues that Ofcom has “failed to understand how the power dynamic works at the point of negotiation”, and that proposed changes may lead to indies “feeling pressure to acquiesce in order for commissions to go ahead” and that this is likely to result in the “warehousing of rights with no value, resulting in a lack of growth overall in the sector.”
Pact Chief Executive, John McVay OBE, said: “Ofcom is looking to throw indies under the PSB bus with these proposals, taking the indie sector back 20 years. Instead of looking to promote growth, it is proposing to undermine the successful business model used in the sector, particularly by SMEs.”
Staff Reporter
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