For TV executives accustomed to pouring champagne, the opening speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival was sobering.
» Everyone here knows that we are in a crisis.” – Markus Ryder, Executive Director of Film & TV Charity informed wealthy members before asking them to donate.
The request set the tone for the subdued atmosphere at the industry's annual rally, where streaming and broadcasting bosses took on the rank and file. file workers.
The UK manufacturing sector has experienced a wave of success over years of major investment, fueled by the booming streaming wars. But sudden spending cuts, a slump in the advertising market and devastating strikes in Hollywood have led to a dramatic reversal of fortunes in recent months.
The crisis has left precarious freelancers in a power struggle with industry leaders. , and raised heartbreaking questions about whether the golden years of streaming will ever return.
In 2022, the British television sector has flourished. Investment in UK high-end television (shows costing over £1m to produce an episode) and cinema have soared to a record £6.3bn, helped by heavy spending by wealthy streaming giants while their traditional competitors in broadcasting areas have struggled to keep up. .
Strikes in the US film industry are starting to affect the UK. Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFPBut a return to normal viewing habits after the pandemic and a worsening economic outlook have stalled that growth. Higher interest rates have pushed up the cost of debt and Wall Street is unhappy with the streaming model, forcing executives to rethink their strategies.
Disney plans $3bn (£2.4bn) cuts in content spending ). . Netflix's budget, while relatively stable, has fallen from a record $17.5 billion in 2021.
Meanwhile, broadcasters are grappling with what ITV head Carolyn McCall called «the worst advertising downturn since the financial crisis». Channel 4 has reduced the volume of work and even canceled programs, and the management refused bonuses.
Fuel is added to the fire by the first joint strike of US writers and actors in 60 years, which led to a halt in production and threatens to entail consequences in UK.
As one industry source says, “It’s pretty bleak. I don't think anyone would deny that.»
But while executives are worried about their profits, for freelancers, the crisis is more existential.
Freelancers are the lifeblood of cinema and the television industry, they account for almost half of the workforce. However, a growing number of these workers are unable to find work for months on end, forcing them to claim universal credit or take part-time jobs such as window cleaning.
Last July Film & TV Charity paid out 12 grants. In the same month of this year, that number rose to 108. The charity estimates that an additional 5,000 people in the industry and their families could face working poverty by 2023-24.
Separate study by Bafta this week showed that a third of its members are considering leaving the TV industry.
The crisis came immediately after the pandemic, which led to massive production shutdowns. But unlike in times of Covid, there is no way for the industry to return to vacation, and the drought is exacerbated by a wider cost-of-living crisis.
John McVeigh, chief executive of manufacturer trading organization Pact, says the recent investment boom has been “ unsustainable in the long run and contributed to inflation in addition to underlying cost growth in the economy.”
He adds: «The downturn in advertising and the aftermath of the strikes in the US have meant that many freelancers in the UK have fewer jobs.»
In Edinburgh, the crisis has led to constant accusations about who is to blame — and should freelancers be given more support.
Ian Katz, director of content for Channel 4, insists his company has been unfairly criticized.
«The drop in advertising revenue has affected every commercial broadcaster, we've seen the impact of the strike, we've seen streamers pull billions from their budgets and we've seen the BBC struggle with frozen license fees,» he says.
Katz says the entire industry has been hit by the downturn, arguing that Channel 4 was just being «a little more honest» about the impact on commissioning.
However, Channel 4 refused to use its revolving line of credit £75 million to support program costs.
“It would be inappropriate for us to pull the parachute rope in this way at a moment that is essentially painful for people, but cyclical market fluctuations,” says Katz. . However, the crisis has already affected the schedule: the return of the reality show «Big Brother» has been postponed from March to October.
0807 views have dropped
Meanwhile, Ann Mensah, vice president of content for Netflix, insists the streaming giant's UK spending, which has averaged $1.5 billion a year over the past three years, is «stable».
She adds, «That's not true.» This does not mean that we are not fully aware of the situation we are in and the pressure everyone is under.”
Therefore, for optimistic leaders, the current crisis is simply a downturn that must be weathered – even if the consequences for freelancers will be serious.
McVeigh hopes the money will come back soon and freelancers who were forced out of the industry will be able to come back.
«This is not a structural change and it's more than likely that costs will bounce back and skilled workers will be needed,» he says.
However, not far below the surface lies the fear that the golden age of streaming has indeed passed, and that the industry is seeing a glimpse of a more modest future for the first time.
«Let's face it, maybe what we're looking at is a more significant reset point on a global production scale,» says Katz.
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