Latest news with #DeloitteConference
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sony's Wayne Garvie Roasts 'Ridiculous' Channel 4 In-House Plan: 'It Could Be Potentially Disastrous'
The new Channel 4 in-house productions biz is 'preposterous,' 'ridiculous' and 'potentially disastrous' for the nation's irreverent public broadcaster, according to Sony international boss Wayne Garvie. Garvie did not hold back at the Deloitte Conference this morning when queried over the future in-house biz, which is currently seeking a boss. More from Deadline BBC Director General Floats Concerning Vision Of Future Where "People Don't Care" About Nation's Oldest Public Broadcaster Sky Boss Dana Strong Raises Artificial Intelligence Copyright Concerns: "I Can't Fathom How A Small Producer Keeps Up" A24 Teaming With 'How To Have Sex's Molly Manning Walker On Women's Soccer Series For Channel 4 Instead of focusing on owning new IP via in-house, he said Channel 4, which is soon to be without a CEO and a Chair, should concentrate on a future where it comes together with the BBC. 'Those of us who run in-house production businesses know how difficult it is,' said Garvie, who oversees the likes of Doctor Who, Industry and Sex Education via Sony labels. 'If you're starting out and you don't own IP and have no institutional knowledge of how to run a production business it could be potentially disastrous for Channel 4.' Garvie variously described the plan, which came in after Channel 4 avoided privatization and will allow it to own IP for the first time in its 40-year history, as 'ridiculous' and 'preposterous.' Last month, Channel 4 said it plans to take majority stakes in third-party production companies as part of the plan to move into in-house production. Jonathan Allan, Channel 4's COO and incoming interim CEO, declined to reveal the value of the company's indie investment war chest. Channel 4 has cash reserves of £111M ($150M). 'You lose money after the first three years,' added Garvie today. 'Maybe you make money in five years if you have great people but not money that will help Channel 4 really grow.' Instead, he said Channel 4 should be thinking in a blue sky way about how it can combine with the BBC. 'We have five PSBs here in Britain, most other countries have one,' added Garvie. 'The future surely is the BBC and Channel 4 coming together and that should be focus of the new chair of Channel 4 and its CEO.' Garvie was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference after Sky boss Dana Strong and before Netflix EMEA chief Larry Tanz and UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix EMEA Chief Puts ‘Mr Bates' Debate To Bed: 'We Absolutely Would Have Commissioned It In The UK'
Netflix EMEA boss Larry Tanz has put the Mr Bates vs the Post Office debate to bed. That debate over whether a streamer would have commissioned a local show like the ITV breakout hit has been raging for the past 18 months and Tanz, whose team has recently had success with Adolescence, strove to kill it off at today's Deloitte Conference in London. More from Deadline Sony's Wayne Garvie Roasts "Ridiculous" Channel 4 In-House Plan: "It Could Be Potentially Disastrous" BBC Director General Floats Concerning Vision Of Future Where "People Don't Care" About Nation's Oldest Public Broadcaster Sky Boss Dana Strong Raises Artificial Intelligence Copyright Concerns: "I Can't Fathom How A Small Producer Keeps Up" 'Maybe this is finally my chance,' said Tanz. '[Netflix UK boss] Anne Mensah and her team in the UK commissioned Adolescence, Baby Reindeer and Toxic Town for the UK audience first and foremost. Maybe I can finally put that to bed here and say we absolutely would have commissioned Mr Bates in the UK. We think our audience would love it.' Tanz's shutdown of the debate was unsurprising given that Netflix has found such success with local UK hits of late. Adolescence has been killing it and is now nearing Stranger Things in becoming Netflix's second most watched English-language series of all time. Ironically, top execs at the BBC and Channel 4 have recently said they could not have afforded Adolescence, which was made via an expensive one-take style and starred Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty and Ashley Walters. Since the BAFTA-winning Mr Bates aired to millions in early 2024, debate has raged over the death of truly local British programming. Earlier at the Deloitte Conf, ITV programs boss Kevin Lygo joked that the show has made 's***loads' of money via international sales. He has frequently said it made a loss even though the stars took paycuts. While Tanz confirmed Netflix would have commissioned Mr Bates, Amazon's ex-UK MD Chris Bird recently said the opposite, with Bird acknowledging that the ITV smash was 'too British' to have been commissioned by an American streamer. Tanz clearly disagrees. Tanz, who oversees thousands of hours of content across Netflix EMEA, was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference after BBC boss Tim Davie and alongside Sony international boss Wayne Garvie. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Dramatic Shift In Commissioning' Could Be Problem For British TV Industry, Says Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy
A 'dramatic shift in TV commissioning' has seen the UK become a world leader in high-end drama while the value of smaller shows plummets, according to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Delivering a keynote at the Deloitte Conference, Nandy said 'too many talented creatives have been left out of work' by this shift, leaving her concerned. More from Deadline Netflix EMEA Chief Puts 'Mr Bates' Debate To Bed: "We Absolutely Would Have Commissioned It In The UK" Sony's Wayne Garvie Roasts "Ridiculous" Channel 4 In-House Plan: "It Could Be Potentially Disastrous" BBC Director General Floats Concerning Vision Of Future Where "People Don't Care" About Nation's Oldest Public Broadcaster She said this has come as broadcast viewing declines by one third while streaming 'soars,' leading to a change in the content mix. 'Take, for example, the dramatic shift in TV commissioning patterns that have seen the UK become a world leader at high-end [drama] at the same time as smaller producers have seen the value of their commissions fall by one third,' she said. The 'squeezed middle' dropping out of the UK indie market was the talk of last year's Edinburgh TV Festival, although 2025 has been characterized by a scripted funding crisis driven by American co-producers pulling out of the UK. Nandy said the UK government is providing solutions, however. She flagged improvements like the recent Media Act, providing a 'more sustainable settlement for PSBs so they continue to invest in high quality original content,' she said. While she pointed to smaller commissions declining, she flagged later in her speech that cheaper fare like Come Dine With Me and 'everything in between' are selling just as well as big high-end dramas like Doctor Who and Bridgerton around the world. Possibly nodding to the UK government's refusal to impose a levy on the streamers, Nandy said she wants a 'sustainable ecosystem' for both PSBs and streamers across the UK. 'We won't penalize you through taxes and levies but ensure we have a regulatory framework that creates opportunities for business both big and small and for UK talent to be showcased across the world,' added Nandy. Nandy was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference just prior to BBC boss Tim Davie and Netflix EMEA chief Larry Tanz. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More Everything We Know About 'Happy Gilmore 2' So Far
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Channel 4 Boss Alex Mahon Hits Back At 'Excitable' Wayne Garvie's Criticism Of In-House Plan
A row has broken out between top execs at today's Deloitte Conference, with departing Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon refusing to take Sony international chief Wayne Garvie's criticism lying down. Responding to Garvie's critique of the new Channel 4 in-house productions biz and his declaration that PSBs will need to combine in future, Mahon said two hours later at the London conference that Garvie was 'a little high on his own supply.' More from Deadline "Dramatic Shift In Commissioning" Could Be Problem For British TV Industry, Says Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Netflix EMEA Chief Puts 'Mr Bates' Debate To Bed: "We Absolutely Would Have Commissioned It In The UK" Sony's Wayne Garvie Roasts "Ridiculous" Channel 4 In-House Plan: "It Could Be Potentially Disastrous" 'Wayne got a bit excitable this morning didn't he?,' said Mahon during her keynote. 'The good news is that Channel 4 has a sensible, modest, intelligent plan for in-house production. But I do agree with Wayne that it's not easy to be a producer.' Earlier, Garvie, who oversees labels that make Doctor Who, Industry and Sex Education, described the plan for Channel 4 in-house production as 'preposterous' and 'potentially disastrous' for the nation's irreverent public broadcaster. On his notion that the 'future surely is the BBC and Channel 4 coming together,' Mahon joked that Garvie is the 'grandmaster of chess pushing all the PSBs together.' But she pushed back on this, saying that 'plurality and competition' lead to a strong broadcasting ecosystem and saying the audience would suffer if PSBs started combining. Mahon will soon exit Channel 4 to join live events firm Superstruct. Mahon was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference after the likes of Garvie, BBC boss Tim Davie, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Netflix EMEA Chief Larry Tanz. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More Everything We Know About 'Happy Gilmore 2' So Far
