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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crisis? What Crisis? ITV Studios Bosses Reject Talk Of Gloom In The Scripted Market But Note British Limited Series Are Under Threat
Bosses at ITV Studios have rejected the notion that there is a UK scripted funding crisis while batting away questions around sale rumors. Speaking at the Creative Cities Convention (CCC), MD Julian Bellamy and sales boss Ruth Berry struck an upbeat tone as they refused to accept that the drama market is in crisis despite it being labelled as such by numerous industry figures. More from Deadline Legacy Media? UK Pubcasters Balk At Outdated Term & Say "We've Got To Be Phoenixes Rising From The Ashes" 'Saturday Night Live UK' Commissioner Says British Version Is A "Risky Proposition": "We Don't Have That History Of Live Comedy In The UK" Paramount UK & All3Media Bosses Debate Trump Tariff Plan Spooking The Industry: "Let's Keep Calm & See What Happens" 'I don't subscribe to the word 'crisis',' said Bellamy, flagging that three of the five biggest British dramas in the past year were made by ITV Studios – four if you include The Gentlemen from newly acquired Moonage Pictures. 'You have to take a step back. We have a pretty strong track record and scripted is a key growth engine.' Bellamy did note that the U.S. co-pro market is 'challenging' and 'very British limited series that don't have a lot of international resonance ' are becoming harder to get off the ground, as he joined industry calls for an enhanced high-end TV tax credit. Concurring with Bellamy, Berry said 'crisis feels a strong word' but it's all about level of risk. 'Cost inflation has outstripped sales inflation,' she noted. 'You have to take a portfolio view and that is where we are very fortunate with the scale of our business. It's not a crisis but it's about being careful across the group and being on top of market trends to make the decisions that we are.' ITV Studios hits over the past year or so include the likes of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, although that one remains unsold in most territories. The super-indie has spent big on scripted outfits in recent months, buying Moonage, Eagle Eye Drama and Sherlock maker Hartswood Films. Yesterday at the CCC, the writer of Mr Bates, Gwyneth Hughes, suggested there is 'overstaffing' of TV crews and these crews should slim down in order to save money. While striking a more optimistic tone, Bellamy said producers could 'develop fewer, bigger things for market or take them slightly later' to commissioners in order to act smarter and negate rising costs. Sale rumors Rumors swirl around the sale of ITV Studios, with both RedBird IMI and Banijay understood to be showing keen interest. Bellamy declined comment on the sale talk but said he is happy with the production arm's current scale following the splashy scripted indie buys. He said 'we don't engage with most approaches for investment and are highly disciplined.' 'We're open to any opportunities to build out our studio group but we're comfortable with our scale,' he said. 'The scale debate was happening when I started nine years ago. To me it's still fundamentally quite straightforward – if you are looking to scale it has to be the right fit.' Bellamy and Berry were speaking on the second day of the CCC before BBC Director General Tim Davie. Best of Deadline Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Paramount UK & All3Media Bosses Debate Trump Tariff Plan Spooking The Industry: 'Let's Keep Calm & See What Happens'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways 'The chat in the UK market is let's keep calm and see what happens.' That was the verdict of Paramount UK boss Sarah Rose on Donald Trump and Jon Voight's controversial film and TV tariff plans currently spooking the sector. More from Deadline The UK market is a huge beneficiary of U.S. film and TV production and British film bodies, for one, are already planning to sit down with the government to discuss what could be a dramatic fallout if the tariffs get rubberstamped. Speaking on a Question Time panel at today's Creative Cities Convention (CCC), Rose appealed for calm. 'It's a tweet,' she added. 'There are lots of people analyzing it but the chat in the UK market is to keep calm and let's see what happens.' While Rose held back from commenting in depth given that her bosses are American and currently going through a knotty sales process, she did say, 'My U.S. colleagues wouldn't say Hollywood is dying' in response to some of the POTUS's claims. The tariff plan is more than just a tweet now, however, with Deadline revealing Voight's blueprint in full yesterday. Jane Turton, who runs The Traitors super-indie All3Media, which has a presence in the States, noted that TV as well as film falls under the tariffs plan per Voight's proposal. Concurring with Rose, she said Trump is 'not talking about a failing Hollywood but is possibly talking more about tax breaks and incentives.' 'The UK has made a huge success of its relationship with the States and [the U.S.] is still a net exporter of IP,' she added. But Marcus Ryder, who runs the UK's Film & TV Charity, said it is not enough for senior figures like Turton and Rose to simply claim they need more detail. 'Often [Trump] tweets stuff and it does become policy,' added Ryder. 'What is disconcerting is you've got two people here saying they don't know what it means and that is disempowering. It means anxiety and uncertainty is sky high with regards what it means to people's livelihoods.' The panel were speaking at the CCC after YouTube UK boss Alison Lomax. BBC Director General Tim Davie and ITV Studios boss Julian Bellamy will speak tomorrow. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
