SURVEY


PRODUCTION 100 TRUE INDIES


the true indies


£260m turnover. And, in the teeth of economic doom and gloom, it’s predicting an even better year ahead. Avalon’s optimism is reflected in the mood at many of the true indies, large and small. “We’ve got a build mentality,” says Claire McArdle, CEO at Collective Media Group. She and co-CEO Rebecca Knight launched the business just over a year ago, specialising in premium factual and working with sports rights holders. They now have a team of nine, “a brilliant team, we have USPs in the space that we’re in and it feels like an opportunity to build something hugely exciting that we’re really proud of,” says McArdle. For the purposes of Televisual’s


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valon, the biggest true indie, is at the top of the production 100 for a second year, with a stately


True indies are something of a rare breed in the consolidated world of TV production, but their creativity knows no bounds. Pippa Considine Reports


Production 100, a true indie is defined as a company that is run by its owner, or owners, rather than as divisions or labels, by a superindie group, studio, broadcaster or private equity group. This is distinct from the legal definition of an independent production company - for the purposes of the PSB quota - where an indie qualifies as long as no single UK broadcaster has a shareholding greater than 25%.


New launches New indies that launched this year without majority backing included Platinum Productions, headed up by Terry Stone and Richard Turner; Kelly Webb-Lamb’s Mothership Productions; Telltale, launched by Jago Lee; and Manchester-based Rope Ladder Fiction, from former Sky executive Cameron Roach. Despite significant industry


challenges, there’s business confidence among true indies. After all, we have been experiencing a post pandemic bounce back. According to the latest PACT census, total industry revenues in 2021 grew to £3.2bn, up from £2.8bn in 2020. But it was the companies with over £70m turn-over – barely any true indies - that saw the lion’s share of this rise. In terms of commissioning


revenues, the census shows an overall hike in 2021 of 15 per cent. Underneath this figure is a big drop in international commissions and a rise in UK commissions which were valued at £1.89bn. This should be a benefit to true indies, with high- spending UK PSBs committed to using a range of suppliers. Both the BBC and Channel 4 commissioned over half of their originated content outside London in 2021/22. The BBC


Curious Films: Running With the Devil


Merman: Bad Sisters


Autumn 2022


P23


televisual.com


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