SPONSORED BY Sponsored by Indies 2016 LEADER Quiet after the storm After the ructions of 2014, the past year has been a period of comparative stability for the indie sector, a market that has levelled out at around £2.3bn. Here we present some of the fruits of that activity, such as the fi rst turnover fi gure for the combined Endemol Shine behemoth. What you won’t see, alas, is a fi gure for Zodiak, which is in a quiet period as it pre- pares to merge with Banijay; nor a clear refl ection of Twofour’s activity, as ITV Studios opts not to break out its operating companies’ individual revenues. 09 14 ITVS as a whole now generates revenues of more than £1bn; small wonder, then, that many indies fear what a commercial BBC Productions will do to the market. Drama is on a roll, with the top fi ve indies specialising in the genre growing their combined revenues by a third. Our highest new entry, Indian Summers producer New Pictures, symbolises drama’s swaggering global ambition right now: an international cast, a sumptuous budget, transatlantic partners and a 10-hour order secured from a spec script – and now a second series. Small wonder the producer was quickly snapped up by a resurgent All3Media, which also picked up Call The Midwife producer Neal Street Productions and is preparing to recharge Company Pictures. Elsewhere, young producers such as Plimsoll Productions and Knicker- bockerglory come bearing good news, buoyed by supersized factual orders. But the survey also shows how indies are clouded by the “state of suspended anticipation” identifi ed by Channel 4 chief executive David 16 36 Abraham, as the government asks tough questions of the future of our public service broadcasters. Our indies are not shy about pointing out the foibles and frustrations of dealing with their customers, but they’re sure as hell not going to let them become neutered, homogenised or stripped CONTENTS back without a fi ght. 04 INTRODUCTION International appetite for drama boosts scripted indies Robin Parker 09 MAIN TABLES Editor, Indie Survey Full results for the 152 indies that completed the survey 14 TRUE INDIES With thanks to Audio Network for sponsoring this year’s survey. The top 30 companies unaffi liated to any larger group For further information visit 15 FASTEST RISERS audionetwork.com The seven fastest-growing indies with turnovers below £20m 16 TOP OWNERS/CONSOLIDATORS Endemol Shine Group tops table with fi rst combined results INDIE SURVEY METHODOLOGY 22 TRENDS An email questionnaire was sent biggest UK turnover is ranked Advisory fi rm Prospero examines the outlook for ‘true’ indies out to more than 300 producers higher. Our thanks to About in January. To qualify, they had to Corporate Finance for casting an 24 BROADCASTERS have had at least one piece of expert eye over these fi gures. Government meddling in the industry is the big issue for indies commissioned programming We also polled companies that broadcast in the UK in 2015, and own indies. Some opted not to 26 TOP SUPPLIERS still be in business. Any omissions break down the turnover of their Broadcasters’ top 10 suppliers by hours and spend are therefore no longer trading, had individual subsidiaries, which are 32 NATIONS & REGIONS no shows on air last year, or did not not listed in the main league table, Hours and turnover fall at out-of-London indies complete the survey. but their turnovers are included Companies are ranked based on within those of their owners. 35 ONES TO WATCH their 2015 turnover or the most Individual broadcaster league The 10 indies making their mark with a slew of recent commissions recent full year for which fi gures are tables, ranking indies by volume available. Where turnovers are and spend, were supplied by the 36 PEER POLL equal, the company with the broadcasters themselves. Which indies have most impressed their peers this year? Broadcast Editor Chris Curtis Supplement Editor Robin Parker Production Editor Dominic Needham Art Editor Abi Hardwick Contributors Neil Midgley, Will Strauss, Andy Fry Managing Director, MBI Alison Pitchford Sales Manager Talia Levine Account Director Bindu Jolly broadcastnow.co.uk 18 March 2016 | Broadcast Indie Survey | 3 Indies 2016 OVERVIEW LEAGUE TABLES Drama indies take centre stage Insatiable overseas appetite for English-language drama and the consequent fl ow of international money into UK production were the big themes of 2015, writes Neil Midgley ritain’s independent TV produc- tion sector is a fi nancial puzzle: INDIE CONFIDENCE LEVELS % Ban industry that appeals to ever more M&A buyers, but which (overall) 56% has stayed the same size. Takeover activity continued apace in 2015, with Twofour, Neal Street and New Pictures all under new ownership. Yet the total turnover of reporting indies was £2.25bn – exactly the 44% same as the previous year. Like for like (looking at just the companies that sub- mitted entries in both years), the total is More confi dent than a year ago £2.07bn. Some indies chose not to take Less confi dent than a year ago part this year, including the Twofour companies that now report to ITV. Indian Summers (New Pictures) Based on 67 responses Some takeover activity was, of Right: Downton Abbey (Carnival Films) course, driven by companies that are so large, they defi ne the wider market- AVERAGE place. Deep-pocketed ITV snapped Street Productions, as well as BUDGET CHANGE up Twofour for an initial payment of Charlie Pattinson’s New Pictures. 1% £55m (and an eye-watering fi nal Not only are both indies 9% 44% price, over six years, of up to £280m). drama specialists, but both are With its revenues breaking £1bn for reporting buoyant turnover 46% the fi rst time in 2015, ITV Studios is fi gures in this year’s survey: now the dominant force in British Neal Street is up 25% to £50m commercial TV production – bigger and New Pictures is the highest than half the indie sector put together. new entry with £15.9m. Their biggest Other deals refl ected the tectonic shows – Neal Street’s Call The Midwife shifts in the programmes that viewers and Penny Dreadful and New Pictures’ want to see, not only in the UK but The Missing and Indian Summers – are around the world. All3Media bought all UK/US co-productions. We have a No change 2014’s second-biggest true indie, Neal All3Media’s results refl ect two big hit brand in Fall of less than 10% trends: the apparently insa tiable appe- Fall of 10-20% Downton Increase of 10-20% INDIE BIGGEST CONCERNS tite of TV buyers around the world for English-language drama, and the con- Abbey, so Based on 80 responses Concern % sequent fl ow of international money most of our Securing commissions/ 16.5 into British drama production. appetite for genre revenue is a WAS 2015 A LESS Lack of funds/budget 13 Dramatic growth SUCCESSFUL YEAR THAN 2014? Consolidation/competition from result of 13 The top fi ve dedicated drama indies bigger producers global Defi cit funding/rights/terms of trade 12 in our survey (Carnival, Left Bank, Kudos, Neal Street and Bentley) grew 69% 31% Competition from in-house production 10.5 distribution their combined turnover buy a third, Recruiting/retaining staff 7 from a collective total of £242.2m in GARETH NEAME Pipeline cashfl ow 7 2014 to £322.8m in 2015. CARNIVAL FILMS C4 privatisation 6 Compare that with the top fi ve BBC3 going online 4 non-drama indies in the table (IMG, Future of BBC after charter renewal 3.5 Avalon, Thames, Lime – which has Regional bias/issues 3.5 diverged from drama into constructed Challenge from digital/ 2.5 reality in recent years – and Sunset+ keeping up with tech Vine), which were up by just 3.8% col- Risk aversion 2.5 lectively (to £468.8m from £451.5m in No Yes Based on 86 responses 2014). And that was mostly thanks to a Based on 69 responses standout performance from Avalon. 4 | Broadcast Indie Survey | 18 March 2016 broadcastnow.co.uk Sponsored by Television, grew its revenues by 48.7% SECTOR FASTEST GROWERS (ALL INDIES) last year, from £53.4m to £79.4m STATS – thanks in part to scoring Rank and company Growth in Netfl ix’s fi rst British drama turnover (%) commission, the upcoming 1 Rawcut Television +1,035.0 £3m-an-hour royal pot- £ 2 Plimsoll Productions +379.0 boiler The Crown. 3Darrall Macqueen +229.0 “The next iteration of 4 Lemonade Money +229.0 what a British drama 2.3bn World Productions company could be, and 5 (Marcus Evans Group) +220.0 should be, is Left Bank,” Indie sector global 6 Knickerbockerglory +158.0 says Wayne Garvie, chief turnover creative offi cer for inter- 7Woodcut Media +158.0 national production at 819m 8Pretzel Films +146.0 Sony. He brushes off 9 Freeform Productions +124.0 Combined turnover industry sniping that of the top 10 indies 10 October Films +120.6 Netfl ix’s insistence on taking (36% of the market) global rights makes its com- BIGGEST FALLERS (ALL INDIES) World’s Strongest Man (IMG) missions less appealing. “When Fall in the production fee is so good, then Rank and company turnover 494m (%) it’s not a worry. The Crown will be a Combined turnover 1 Endor Productions (Red Arrow) –79.4 very profi table piece of business.” of true indies (21% 2 Pilot Film and TV Productions –45.5 “We have a hit brand in Downton Other indies are scrambling to of the market) Abbey, so most of our revenue is a follow Left Bank’s example and get 3Eleventh Hour –44.9 result of global distribution,” says their hands on some of the cash that 4 Bwark (Zodiak) –42.9 Gareth Neame, managing director of is increasingly being sprayed around 5 The Comedy Unit (Zodiak) –41.2 NBC Universal subsidiary Carnival by Netfl ix and Amazon.