Priced Out? The Threat to High Quality UK TV Drama

BSAC and acclaimed Writer, Director and Producer Peter Kosminsky (Stonehenge Films) have jointly held a roundtable meeting for BSAC Members and a number of senior invited industry figures to discuss the impact of current production costs for quality UK TV drama in an era in which global streaming platforms may be withdrawing from co-production.

This roundtable was convened as a follow up to discussions at the July 2018 Council Meeting, at which concerns were expressed that, following a decade of rising costs for the production of high quality UK drama, global streaming platforms might now be starting to withdraw from entering into co-production agreements, and that this might create a funding gap that might make it impossible to produce highest quality drama exploring culturally British stories and themes.

Concerns had been raised that the effects of this would ultimately be a fundamental reshaping of the shape of the UK television industry, something that would force a rapid and drastic reshaping of business models, monetisation, and a shift away from commissioning decisions that focus upon drama that explored distinctively British cultural stories and themes, or that represented and reflected the diversity of the UK.

This roundtable examined these issues further with leading independent producers, drama commissioners and other interested parties.

This was a private meeting for BSAC Members and invited guests.