HOW ARE PRODUCTION COMPANY BUSINESS MODELS CHANGING?
WD Business models need to be global, via streamers or world-class distribution partners, to generate the funding needed to deliver the quality and innovation required by the marketplace. Production companies are increasingly required to release more IP to generate the funding needed to assemble the budget required to get a new commission over the line and into production.
The Rap Game
globally as well as domestically…. Global really matters and domestic really matters. The global SVODs are also recognising this and taking producing for the domestic market seriously.
DD Because of the nature of domestic opportunities, you’ve got to have a global vision and that’s where some of the opportunity is. You’ve got to have a mixed ecology - domestic and global - a bit of both.
HOW IMPORTANT IS A LOCAL VISION (NATIONAL/REGIONAL)?
UNDERSTANDING BOTH THEIR GLOBAL AND LOCAL AUDIENCE NEEDS, USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
BECOMING INCREASINGLY SOPHISTICATED IN
ALL PROVIDERS ARE
SC We definitely face the US and global market much more than we face the UK market. That is changing in interesting ways. Some of the streamers here very much have local strategies. Disney is one such example, making content for the UK market predominantly, but it’s really
premium content. UK content that can feel global is an interesting needle to thread.
WD Having a global vision is extremely important, particularly around nature film-making and conservation, as the issues span geographical, political and cultural boundaries. It is essential for any production company to have a clear purpose that goes beyond making films. At True to Nature our purpose is to create lifelong relationships between people and the natural world through great story telling, with innovation and conservation at our heart.
WD It’s very important to understand national and regional needs within a global market and fine tune content to serve these needs. In the UK, PSB and terrestrial broadcasters have led in this area, but all providers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding both their global and local audience needs, using digital technology.
FS It makes us stand out in terms of distinctiveness. British stories told
well are really unique and different and they can travel ...if you’re finding the right stories and encasing them around true crime, or sport, or an entertainment format. Look at Disney and Beckham [Save Our Squad], or us with Planet Sex [for BBC Three and Hulu].
EH It’s really important, in terms of story machines and representation as much as anything else. Some of the biggest crime stories have come from local and regional sources. It’s how you tell the story that’s crucial. So long as you are telling stories that reflect the local/regional culture whilst also sitting them within national, and sometimes international, programming. The whole
‘regional TV’ Alan Partridge-esque (or rather local radio) stereotypes
DD Small going into medium is where we are. I’ve got a mixture: for instance one format is doing very nicely indeed with distribution, sold as tape and the format and keeps us going - lovely jubbly. Also I’ll do a job - if it’s pretty good - for cash. Once you decide that you’re going to work with a streamer or platform, you’ve got to decide if the tariff is of a suitable number to make sense for you.
THE WHOLE ‘REGIONAL TV’ ALAN PARTRIDGE-ESQUE STEREOTYPES HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR IN TERMS OF REGIONAL COMPANIES NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY
have a lot to answer for in terms of regional companies not being taken seriously. Thankfully, the nations and regions are finally being seen as important and that can only be a good thing for the industry as a whole.
SM We’ve watched the cinematic film finance model appear in scripted TV for the last decade if not longer, and now we are seeing the same model in factual, where there is less distinction between TV and film, feature doc and TV one- offs or series. The days of a single commission from one broadcaster in certain markets is less dominant than it used to be. Whilst on the one hand the retention of rights by UK producers is under pressure, and therefore consequently a risk to their earnings from the back end, on the other hand, there are also great opportunities in work for hire or
more complex financing models.
CL They are changing and evolving. It’s not like the old system is broken, a huge part of business is operating as per always and let’s
See the Televisual Factual Films at
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