News

12th Jul 2018

July 2018 Council Meeting

Items on the agenda at the July Council Meeting included:

  • Peter Kosminsky (Writer, Director, Producer) highlighted his concerns that the increase in production costs for drama over the last few years, combined with Netflix and Amazon’s recent shift away from co-productions with UK PSBs, was creating a funding gap which could rapidly lead to the loss of high quality UK drama made specifically for UK audiences;
  • Natalie Usher (former Director of Screen, Creative Scotland) offered reflections on her years supporting the film and TV sector in Scotland, welcoming recent changes and arguing that risk taking, communication and building confidence were key elements of a successful strategy for the sector;
  • Clare Sumner (Director of Policy, BBC) noted key elements of the recent BBC Annual Report and argued for legislation to protect PSB prominence in light of the myriad news ways in which UK consumers could access audiovisual content;
  • Sam Barcroft (CEO Barcroft Media) presented on ‘How Producers can Prosper in a Digital Age’, sharing key elements of the Barcroft TV ‘digital first’ strategy in relation to monetising and gaining commissions for the popular factual content in which it specialises;
  • Charlie Byrne (CEO, Engager) spoke in the occasional ‘Focus on a New Business’ strand, highlighting the award winning Engager social media ratings tool which is expanding from its base in Ireland (where it works with RTE and TAM Ireland) to the UK and USA, with trials agreed with Channel 4 and Fox; and
  • Updates on the latest policy developments for the sector.

Council Meetings are private events for BSAC Members.

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