Written evidence submitted by Indie Club

THE FUTURE OF PSBs Indie Club Introduction & Background:

Indie Club represents independent television production companies based outside London, so our members are keen to ensure the PSBs continue to commission programmes which support production bases around the whole country, as they are required to do under the Communications Act 2003. In the ten years leading up to 2018, Indie Club discovered many TV productions were being declared by the PSBs as having been produced in different places around the UK, but were actually being mainly made in London. Some TV production companies were even bringing runners up from London to Manchester rather than employing young people locally. The majority of jobs created and money generated by these productions was benefitting only the capital city and not the country as a whole. This was particularly the case with productions, as the previous senior management team had worked out a clever way of bypassing Ofcom’s regulation of the Communications Act 2003. As a consequence the TV industry as a whole was becoming more and more upper middle class and less meritocratic, as people living outside the capital found it increasingly difficult to get jobs and find consistent, year-round work in the industry. The vast majority of key editorial decisions on programmes across all the PSBs were being made in London, which left the rest of the country feeling television was out of touch with the way most British people live and think. Indie Club therefore led a successful campaign in June 2018, asking Ofcom to tighten the regulations around programmes made outside London, to ensure each production both created jobs in the nations and regions, and also left an economic legacy, which is what the Communications Act 2003 intended. The PSBs needed to be reminded by Ofcom and the DCMS of their legal commitment to help build production bases outside London. The new, tighter regulation of TV programmes made outside London starts in January 2021, but in preparation, there has been considerable improvement in the last twelve months. It is a joy to see so many jobs in television being advertised outside London for the first time in many years.  The new management team at Channel 4 has opened offices in Leeds, Bristol and Glasgow and has appointed commissioning editors to be based there. Hopefully, in the future C4 will also start to commission more programmes from smaller independent companies based outside London and stop relying on large companies plus the ‘super indies’ owned by foreign broadcasters.

 Channel 5 has set up a production company in the north which provides local employment and continued to ensure it commissions from out of London indies. Production companies which would previously just filmed outside London whilst doing their pre and post production in the capital, have now set up proper offices in the nations and regions creating jobs and ensuring each production leaves an economic legacy.

 The BBC does not yet have commissioning editors outside London, but it is supporting small independent production companies in the nations and regions through various schemes including the Small Indie Fund.

Indie Club applauds the PSBs re-stating their commitment to diversity following the Black Lives Matter campaign, however, it is incredibly important that they ensure these verbal commitments are followed by genuine actions, because far too few British black and Asians are employed at senior levels by the PSBs.

Indie Club Responses to DCMS Questions:

 Regulation: Are the current regulations and obligations placed on PSBs, in return for benefits such as prominence and public funding, proportionate? What (if any regulation) should be introduced for SVoDs and other streaming services?

The Communications Act 2003 outlines the legal requirement for PSBs to invest and maintain Production Bases outside London to ensure British television is made across the whole of the UK and not just in London. This allows people from across the country to have the opportunity to make television, which ensures the industry is both creatively meritocratic and that its programmes reflect the country as a whole.

This nationwide approach to the regulation and production of TV is historic, dating back to the creation of the network of ITV regional companies in the 1950s. Many of those who now run successful TV companies and programmes began their careers outside London including Nicola Schindler, of Red Production Company – Years & Years; Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax to Siobhan Greene, who co-created Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway; The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

The creative industries create a large number of jobs and Britain is one of the biggest exporters of TV formats in the world, so with careful regulation, the PSBs can drive job creation and economic growth.

Indie Club believes the reason British TV is so successful, is that successive British governments have ensured it is creatively meritocratic, tapping into talent across the whole country, and is not reliant only on people who live in London to come up with programme ideas and produce them.

Boris Johnson is keen to create jobs outside London and if Ofcom continues to regulate the work of the PSBs, they can really help the Government balance the economy across the UK.

MediaCity in Salford is the most successful regeneration project in Europe. Since the BBC became its anchor tenant and began broadcasting in 2011, the 3,000 jobs it created have resulted in more than double that number being created by other companies attracted to the development.

Hopefully the new Channel 4 HQ in Leeds and the broadcaster’s hub offices in Bristol and Glasgow will similarly lead to thousands of new jobs.

It’s particularly important for the BBC to ensure it creates jobs across the UK because the licence fee is paid by people who live all over the country. The experience of Indie Club is that the BBC does take job creation outside London very seriously and also genuinely nurtures smaller companies in a way that makes it very different to all the other PSBs. The BBC currently gives more work to smaller independent companies than any of the other PSBs.

Channel 4 is a wonderful part of Margaret Thatcher’s legacy and is specifically tasked to commission from smaller independent companies outside London. At the moment, according to its annual report/s, it remains overly reliant on larger companies which are based in London and are often not independent. Hopefully this will change as its bases outside London become established.

It’s important the DCMS and Ofcom regularly and closely examine just how many independent suppliers each PSB has, how large those companies are and where they are based. The PSB system could really help the Government’s ambition to create jobs all around the UK and level the playing field – but not if all the work is given to companies run by multi-millionaire white men who are based in London or if it is handed to companies which are owned by international broadcasters who take the profits out of the UK, rather than reinvesting them here.

The Terms of Trade outlined in the Communications Act 2003, allow independent companies to own the formats and programmes they make – keeping a large percentage of the revenue from international sales. This has been an excellent incentive for producers to innovate and fully exploit their creativity internationally. Since the Terms of Trade began in 2004, the British TV sector has increased its value hugely and has become the envy of the world. Many large international broadcasters now own British independent production companies because content is king, and we own our own content.

Indie Club believes the Terms of Trade are therefore essential, but work best when the PSBs do also benefit from part of the back-end revenue.

Channel 4 recently re-negotiated with PACT to give producers 100% of the back-end revenue rather than the previous 85% in exchange for more VOD/SVOD rights and so it can use clips of the programmes it commissions online. Indie Club believes this was a poor negotiation and that C4 should have kept 10% of back end rights, because its commissioners do help form the content the producers make.

The BBC also recently renegotiated the Terms of Trade to allow the programmes it commissions to stay on iPlayer for 12 months and quite rightly argued and agreed to keep 10% of the revenue from back end sales.

 Representation: How would representation be protected if changes were made to the PSB model? How would the nations and regions be affected by changes to the PSB model? Is the ‘quota’ system the most efficient way to maintain and improve representation in broadcasting?

Media is a very powerful and influential tool in society. Onscreen and off- screen diversity is crucial. Indie Club believes British TV is far from the diverse industry it should be. As it has become more and more London centric, it has also become more and more upper middle class. Many different, recent studies reveal this to be the case. One of the key roles of the PSBs should be to unify the country and therefore pushing for less centralisation in the capital and for a more diverse work force should be a key target for all those running PSBs.

Having genuine editorial power outside London by basing commissioning editors and channel controller around the UK is also key to ensuring all voices are represented.

Having both BBC Breakfast and BBC 5Live broadcasting from MediaCity in Salford each day has made a massive difference to representation. At last there are academics with northern accents on TV and radio news and children from the north are reflected in reports. “You cannot be what you cannot see,” so this access to television is crucial.

It is interesting that 5Live, which involves its listeners in many of its programmes, was the only news outlet to correctly predict the Brexit result because it is far more in touch with ordinary people all around the UK.

Channel 4 has now opened offices around the UK – as outlined above. Let’s hope that editorial decisions can now be made at that PSB outside London.

It would be good if the BBC pushed more production outside London but also ensured at least one of its channels operated from another city. Could BBC 2 be moved to MediaCity?

When it comes to commissioning programmes, the PSBs operate in a very casual way, in which relationships are key. As the vast majority of the channels are all currently in London, this puts those companies outside London at a big disadvantage.

Everyone knows the easiest way to pitch programme ideas is when you are already in production, so the problem of a relatively small number of suppliers, most of which are based in London, is self-perpetuating.

There is a club mentality with the industry being very much about who you know rather than what you know. Commissioning editors in London regularly jump ship from broadcasters to join the large independent production companies they commission programmes from. It’s less likely they would want a job from a company based outside the capital so does this influence who they commission programmes from? The television industry can often look rather corrupt from the outside. When commissioning opportunities are put out to tender and not reliant on ‘relationships’ then the playing field is levelled. Indie Club therefore believes that to create more diversity the Government and Ofcom should encourage the PSBs to take the time to offer more tender opportunities, particularly when they are looking to commission returning series.

 Impact: What value, if any, do PSBs bring to the UK in terms of economic (local and national), cultural and societal impact?

Indie Club believes it’s very important that people all around the UK, from every different background, benefit from feeling they have access to and are indeed part of the national PSBs. This will help establish a feeling of unity in the country.

When independent production companies are genuinely based outside London, genuinely making programmes in the nations and regions, as the Communications Act 2003 requires, then they can offer work experience and apprenticeships. In the 13 years since I set up , I have had over a thousand young people do work experience and many have gone on to have successful careers. If all the companies making TV are in London, no-one outside London can afford to do work experience placements.

 Looking ahead: What should a PSB look like in a digital age? What services should they provide, and to whom? In what way, and to whom, should they be accountable? Is the term ‘public service broadcasting’ still relevant and, if not, what is a suitable alternative?

The current Covid-19 pandemic has graphically demonstrated the importance and strength of the BBC in particular, as part of the national fabric of our society. The Government has relied on the BBC to get its messages across each day, regarding how people need to defend and protect against the virus.

A Covid-19 Media Behaviours Report (Havas Media Group 20 March 2020) stated:

“The BBC has become the most-trusted news brand on coronavirus, with 64% of respondents selecting it as a reliable source of information from a list of media brands. The public-service broadcaster beat Sky News, which was voted for by 29% of participants…” Eva Grimmett, Havas Media’s chief strategy officer, said: "This study really highlights the role that trusted, meaningful media play in times of crisis. While most channels have seen an increase in consumption in response to Covid-19, our research reveals a much greater reliance on live TV and a need for trusted news brands such as the BBC.”

In addition to its news provision, the BBC has introduced a range of targeted health, advice and educational services and programmes through its various outlets including:-

 daily educational programming for the various key stages or year groups and relevant to the various curricula and including expanded content for the acclaimed BBC Bitesize.  health check programming with tips how to stay healthy at home and also to address other viewers’ concerns regarding isolation and nutrition;  virtual religious services, with a recognition of the different faiths to be provided for and relevant important religious dates and events (this includes Nine Lives new series Sunday Worship;  exercise and fitness, with particular focus on routines for older age groups; Also, many of its popular programmes have been adapted to respond to the crisis.

Even before the pandemic, Small Screen: Big Debate – review of Public Sector Broadcasting (2014-18), a report by Ofcom found that:

“Audiences continue to highly value the purposes and objectives of PSB, including trustworthy news and programmes that show different aspects of UK life and culture” and

“The PSB system plays an important role in the UK’s wider creative economy. Investment by the PSB channels makes up the bulk of the UK production sector’s revenue and how the money is spent is underpinned by regulation that supports a vibrant and diverse production sector across the nations and regions.”

If the Government wishes to address inequality of provision by the BBC, especially where there is an impact on those with protected characteristics or the most vulnerable, this could be best achieved by ensuring a more representative presence outside London. To be truly effective this would entail relocating more of the BBC’s operations and infrastructure in the nations and regions, in effect, building on the success of MediaCity in Salford.

Benefits of such a development include:

 A more robust cultural and media ecology in a different parts of the UK, which would better nurture and sustain a truly diverse pool of creative talent.  Young people wishing to make a career in the sector would no longer have the stark choice of either having to move to London or building a limited CV, living hand to mouth in the nations and regions … or leave the industry altogether.  It would serve the Government’s stated agenda of ‘levelling up’  It would promote more programme making commissioned and produced outside London and in so doing ….  It would better fulfil the spirit of the Communications Act 2003 (the Act) and provide the opportunity for more representative public service broadcasting (PSB) that reflects and responds to the diverse make-up and perspectives of the communities of the UK.

Section 264(4) of the Act mandates that PSB provides ‘television services that meets the needs and satisfies the interests of as many different audiences as practicable’. This is underlined in the PSB objectives, which include the requirement that broadcasting should ‘reflect the lives and concerns of different communities and cultural interests and traditions within the United Kingdom, and locally in different parts of the United Kingdom; and include programmes made outside the M25’.

It is widely accepted, that there is still much room for improvement in terms of delivering this provision.

Ofcom’s review of Public Sector Broadcasting (2014-18) states: “The amount of content from the nations and regions has been relatively stable, but audiences think more could be done to reflect UK culture” (p22, ‘Small Screen: Big Debate’ – Feb 2020).

Co-ordinating policy with regulatory activity would afford more effective and efficient, streamlined evaluation and monitoring within an already existing framework. Even within the BBC, the imperative to do better is recognised. The nations and regions and their multiplicity of diverse voices, including under-represented BAME and disabled communities, deserve to be better served.

In his address to the Royal Television Society (RTS) in 2018 BBC Director General Tony Hall said the BBC must do – and spend – more outside London to truly reflect the whole of the UK in its output. “Because we’re funded by everyone, we feel a moral duty to serve everyone,” he said.

Indie Club hopes the new Director General, Tim Davie, recognizes the economic, creative and moral imperative to continue moving the BBC in the same direction.

This submission is written on behalf of Indie Club by: -

Cat Lewis, Chair, Indie Club & CEO Nine Lives Media and Charles Lauder, CEO, Indie Club