The BBC has a number of scripted programs on its slate that it “cannot finance”, according to senior British producer Jane Featherstone.
Featherstone who runs Black pigeons The producer, Sister, has presented numerous BBC shows over the years alongside major Netflix hits, he claimed during the British parliamentary inquiry into high-end TV shows and films.
“The BBC can answer that question, but I know they have multiple programs they cannot fund through no fault of their own,” she told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMSC). “Which makes it very difficult to see more in the future because these shows take two to three years to get to the screen.” Deadline has contacted the BBC about Featherstone's claim and will update this post when the BBC responds.
Anecdotally, Deadline has heard over the past few months of shows in the UK stuck in what is often called the “soft green light” phase, when a show is given the green light but producers are told they still need to find the majority of funding.
Featherstone spoke about the issue and pointed to an example of a BBC Sister program he wrote Utopia Writer Dennis Kelly.
“The BBC gave us the green light, and now we're asking: how are we going to fund it? Because the green light is 30% of the budget, which traditionally now represents enough funding.” [Public Service Broadcaster] “I can't help but put it down,” she said. “Every case is different but it leaves us with a gap of up to, say, 60% of the budget. Here we are [in the UK] Getting closer to this independent film model at a lower cost.
Featherstone said the BBC and other public broadcasters such as Channel 4 had to “divert more money” to more expensive content, which did not necessarily reflect British values. “The market itself will not be interested in British content, and that is the part we need to look at, that is the part that is at risk,” she said.
She pointed out that it has become difficult to sell British content abroad, pointing to the example of the successful ITV channel Mr Bates v Post Office, Which “wasn't sold to many countries at all.”
Regarding her own company, Sister, Featherstone said she “doesn't feel as confident about the sustainability of our business model” compared to the post-Covid boom era 18 months ago. Deadline revealed last year that the independent company had doubled its turnover but was still failing to turn a profit. It has since closed its US office and Cindy Holland has exited.
“I'd like to think we're a very risk-friendly company, but I have to be honest, in the last 18 months, I've felt less inclined to take those risks because I don't feel confident about the sustainability of our business model,” she said. “I feel less secure now than I did.” “In terms of long-term investment for the future.”
She said she had higher hopes for this year and expected the market to equalize somewhat between publishers and streamers, while calling for help improving the tax credit, and supporting… Doctor Who Producer Jane Tranter. Tranter has previously urged the UK government to update cutting-edge TV tax credits in line with the “game-changing” British independent film exemption.
Featherstone was speaking to CMS's cutting-edge TV and film inquiries. A number of UK TV doyens contributed to the same inquiry last year including Gurinder Chadha, Tranter and… Slow horses Director James Hawes. It had been postponed for a while during the general election period, but a newly assembled CMS committee decided to bring it back up again.
