US INWARD INVESTMENT
RTS DEBATE
WG: Obviously, it’s one of the reasons they come here and one of the reasons the tax credit has really helped. Also, it’s very difficult in America to make low cost production. There’s a whole load of guilds. Also, when they come here, the experience is good.
JB: It’s notable that Netflix is going down a route where it makes more localised content. It’s got a growing studio in Spain for example, to service the Latin market. What does that look like in the UK?
WG: There are different price points around the world. If you can get a show like La Casa de Papel out of Spain at a very low price point, and it does your job in that particular domestic market, and it becomes a hit elsewhere - that’s a very happy model. Undoubtedly, the model for all these streaming services is - because they are businesses – how can we lower the cost of production? How can we spend less and get more? So they will be looking to those territories. They want local, actually, because it’s the universality within the local that works.
JM: Certain of our shows are deeply embedded in their locality. Save Me sold into the States, and it’s done pretty well internationally. But the vernacular of that script is extraordinary, and could only have come from a British writer, in this case, a black British writer and a Londoner. As long as you find the universal themes of the story, you will find a broader audience. Audiences internationally
now are becoming more and more sophisticated. It’s about making the local universal and not the other way around, not finding universal themes and making them parochial.
JB: Thinking about streaming deals, what’s attractive – and maybe unattractive - about them for indies.
JM: It depends. If you’re a producer, then the all rights deal at the outset means that your profit margin is baked in on day one. Now, after years of retaining rights in the UK, British indies have had a great opportunity to own their own destiny, and to retain control of their rights and exploit them internationally. But there is a sweet spot in the middle. I think it is attractive for production companies sometimes to work for streamers. Because those all rights deals mean that you do see your margin upfront. That can be very helpful for your working capital as a producer, especially a small producer. Then you can retain rights with the linear platforms in the conventional way.
WG: I think the real issue is that we’ve probably got an oversupply of producers in our market. You certainly see this in drama. I think there’ll be a shakedown – there’ll be more consolidation, inevitably. People have got to somehow share costs. It’ll be the middle that will get squeezed, in my view.
JM: The consolidation of production businesses over the last 10 years has made millionaires of some people. We’ve seen an
The Crown (Left Bank for Netflix)
ROGER MORRIS MANAGING DIRECTOR, ELSTREE STUDIOS
Morris has been running Elstree Studios for over 12 years with a mix of returning primetime entertainment and multi award-winning drama and feature films. Current productions include The Crown and Strictly Come Dancing. To meet demand, Elstree Studios is building two more large studios on the site which includes a production village with over 40 companies. In 2013 with the University of Hertfordshire, Morris founded The Elstree UTC (now renamed the Elstree Screen Arts Academy with 450 students), a college for vocational education in the Film and TV industry.
SEETHA KUMAR CEO, SCREENSKILLS
ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for UK screen industries, which is supporting economic recovery and future innovation and growth across the nations and regions by investing in the skilled and inclusive workforce who are critical to global success. Kumar sits on the Creative Diversity Network board and the RTS Education Committee and was formerly VP of Pearson Qualifications International. Kumar worked in television in roles including BBC Online controller and launching BBC HD.
Spring 2021
televisual.com 19
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