STREAMERS VS PSBS PRODUCTION 100
SURVEY
as a result of a reduction in primary commissioning spend from the UK – the lowest since 2011.
RIGHTS ISSUE Still, indies like to work with the likes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 if they can. Even though PSB budgets are tight, producers appreciate that the Terms of Trade means they can hold on to their programme rights. The value of back catalogues has been proved during the pandemic, and is one reason to explain the resilience of a sector which has seen relatively few companies go out of business. According to Pact, secondary revenues increased to over £500 million as indies looked to make money by other means while productions were paused or even cancelled. There are other reasons for
wanting to work with the PSBs, though. “UK TV broadcasters remain important for reach and reputation,” says Fulwell 73. The indie adds, though, that it has seen “downward pressure on margins as their budgets are increasingly under pressure.” It’s not alone. Big Wave
Productions thinks that UK budgets have fallen by around 10% on average over the past year, while the streamers budgets are up by around 5%. Plimsoll Productions thinks SVOD and US budgets have remained the same, while the UK has fallen by 5-10%. Both these figures correspond
with Production 100 data which shows that budgets have fallen by an estimated 4% year on year, according to indies. Given this, the financial pull
of the streamers is clearly a major draw for producers, even though they usually acquire all rights (but pay a premium to do so). Many indies accept that a mixture of commissions
from UK TV broadcasters and international streamers is the best model going forward, giving them a combination of rights for the longterm and premium fees to help with immediate cashflow.
NETFLIX Of all the streamers, Netflix is the most appreciated by producers; 49% of respondents to the Production 100 say it is the best streamer to deal with. Producers report that it has “beefed up its UK team with experienced executives” who “care deeply about the filmmakers and their projects and who are a joy to collaborate with.” Others say Netflix “can be
too much in the detail, but has the money to back ambitious projects with conviction.” Indeed Netflix’s budgets are much commented on: “The budgets are realistic and designed to create success – and their people are very focussed on supporting us and not trying to catch us out.” Many get the sense that
Netflix is “very clear about what they’d like and what works and what doesn’t.” Indeed, a good proportion of indies are complimentary about Netflix’s communication and response times to pitches. “Their UK team are very clear on what they want and when submitting projects they reply within one week. No chasing or second guessing. It’s great!.” However, some think that
Netflix is too inundated with ideas to be properly responsive. “It’s impossible to get in the door,” says one indie. “It’s hard to get access,” says another. For some the commissioning process is unclear, or it is hard to navigate who has the power to sign off shows. Tellingly, many of the indies complaining about access are smaller
Autumn 2021 P46
production companies, rather than the bigger players. A number of producers
also point out that Netflix is extremely expensive to develop for. “The expectation of developed materials is hard to achieve for a limited development team,” says one true indie. “It feels like an unfair playing field.”
DISCOVERY+ Discovery+ comes out second when asked which is the best streamer to deal with, taking 15% of the vote. “It has a small but enthusiastic commissioning team who know what they want, make quick decisions, and have been supportive and collaborative during production,” says one producer. Others say it is “open to ideas” and offers “really good, detailed briefs, takes pitches and comes back with quick answers and is up front about its deal structures.” On the flip side, a few
criticise Discovery+ for being “very new and still working out what it wants” and for “too long decision-making chains.” Says another: “Discovery+ are great partners generally, but the rules and regulations are detrimental to the creative process. Everything takes a long time to get done, especially greenlighting of a show and receiving cash payments on time.”
DISNEY+ Disney+ comes third, with 11% of the vote. The platform offers “great commissioner communication” to producers and “fast responses to pitches – they are always available to jump on a call to move projects forward and have a really clear sense of what they want.” Others, however, think that Disney+ is “only just getting going” and “not making decisions.”
televisual.com
THEY HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF THEIR AUDIENCE WHICH IS BACKED UP BY THEIR RATINGS
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