Bosses at ITV Studios have rejected the notion that there is a UK scripted funding crisis while batting away questions around sale rumors.
Speaking at the Creative Cities Convention (CCC), MD Julian Bellamy and sales boss Ruth Berry struck an upbeat tone as they refused to accept that the drama market is in crisis despite it being labelled as such by numerous industry figures.
“I don’t subscribe to the word ‘crisis’,” said Bellamy, flagging that three of the five biggest British dramas in the past year were made by ITV Studios – four if you include The Gentlemen from newly acquired Moonage Pictures. “You have to take a step back. We have a pretty strong track record and scripted is a key growth engine.”
Bellamy did note that the U.S. co-pro market is “challenging” and “very British limited series that don’t have a lot of international resonance ” are becoming harder to get off the ground, as he joined industry calls for an enhanced high-end TV tax credit.
Concurring with Bellamy, Berry said “crisis feels a strong word” but it’s all about level of risk.
“Cost inflation has outstripped sales inflation,” she noted. “You have to take a portfolio view and that is where we are very fortunate with the scale of our business. It’s not a crisis but it’s about being careful across the group and being on top of market trends to make the decisions that we are.”
ITV Studios hits over the past year or so include the likes of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, although that one remains unsold in most territories. The super-indie has spent big on scripted outfits in recent months, buying Moonage, Eagle Eye Drama and Sherlock maker Hartswood Films.
Yesterday at the CCC, the writer of Mr Bates, Gwyneth Hughes, suggested there is “overstaffing” of TV crews and these crews should slim down in order to save money. While striking a more optimistic tone, Bellamy said producers could “develop fewer, bigger things for market or take them slightly later” to commissioners in order to act smarter and negate rising costs.
Sale rumors
Rumors swirl around the sale of ITV Studios, with both RedBird IMI and Banijay understood to be showing keen interest. Bellamy declined comment on the sale talk but said he is happy with the production arm’s current scale following the splashy scripted indie buys.
He said “we don’t engage with most approaches for investment and are highly disciplined.”
“We’re open to any opportunities to build out our studio group but we’re comfortable with our scale,” he said. “The scale debate was happening when I started nine years ago. To me it’s still fundamentally quite straightforward – if you are looking to scale it has to be the right fit.”
Bellamy and Berry were speaking on the second day of the CCC before BBC Director General Tim Davie.
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