spacer spacer
Register
Login >
Join Pact >
Password >
Calendar >
Special Offers >
Terms of Trade >
spacer
spacer
spacer

Latest News

New Pavilion Generates Over 7m For Producers

The first ever UK Indies pavilion, which launched at Mipcom, was a great success and will generate business worth in excess of 7m over the coming months, according to figures provided by companies who used the stand.

Pact Launches New Policy Group

Pacts old industrial relations committee (IRC), which supervised the work of the PRA, has been given an expanded brief by Council.

spacer  Changes Proposed To Work Permits

As part of the governments five-year immigration strategy, the Home Office is proposing to change the system applicable to overseas nationals that wish to apply to work in the UK.

Other News

New Distributor Events For 2007
Broadcasters Back Diversity Pledge
AniFest 2007 Call For UK Entries
Don't Forget To Vote!
UK Film Makers Sought For China
RTS Programme Awards 2006
Latest On The Children's Funding Crisis

Pact Warns Of Impact On New UK Kids Shows

Pact accepts Ofcoms recommendations on the restriction of unhealthy food advertising to children and absolutely understands and supports the need for children to lead healthy lives.

Unfortunately the unintended consequences of these recommendations could result in a significant reduction in the amount of money UK commercial broadcasters invest in new British childrens programming, with major economic and cultural implications.

Pact calculates, based on available data, that commercial broadcasters invest approx 35m a year in new UK childrens programming. Best estimates point to todays ban resulting in a loss of 25m in investment in new UK childrens programming, amounting to nearly 80% of all commercial investment in the sector.

This could result in broadcasters acquiring more programmes from countries like Japan and the US, leaving British children and their parents deprived of access to the sort of imaginative, high quality and family-friendly programmes the UK is famous for; programmes that contribute to the UKs cultural reference points.

These include the likes of Fifi And The Flowertots, which promotes the environment and healthy lifestyles; Peppa Pig with its stories based on the warmth and humour of family life; My Life As A Popat, nominated for a Commission for Racial Equality award; A Different Life, which portrays children with unusual lives from having rare disabilities to living in South African bush and Art Attack and Book Tower which stimulate creativity and reading.

Pact fears that independent producers of childrens and animation programmes will be hit particularly hard by these restrictions as they are major suppliers of new UK childrens and animation programmes in the commercial sector.

Pact calls on Ofcom to ensure the UKs commercial terrestrial broadcasters continue to maintain their investment in original UK childrens programmes. If this does not happen many childrens producers in the UK will face an uncertain future.

 Considerably more is at stake than just the initial loss of investment into the production sector from the original commission. Independent research commissioned by Pact from media analyst Oliver & Ohlbaum shows that, in the childrens sector, independents generate revenues worth two-thirds the value of the original commission through secondary and ancillary sources such as overseas sales and worldwide merchandising. This is far higher than the sales derived from secondary and ancillary exploitation in other genres, and represents a significant factor in the UK television sectors exceptional record as an exporter. Without the initial commission, all these revenues would of course be lost.

A further consequence would be a decline in the UKs ability to train and develop key animation talent and skills, Producers like Aardman Animations for instance, have acted as a driving force in establishing Bristol as internationally recognised centre for production of and training in animation.


gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.