Television Production in Transition: Independence, Scale and Sustainability

This project is about crucial transformations in the structure of ownership of the UK television production industry characterized by increasing consolidation and the growing controlling presence of non-domestic parent groups and related socio-economic, strategic management and policy implications. It breaks new ground by, focusing specifically on TV production, investigating the relationship between, on the one hand, expansion, scale and differing sorts of corporate configurations (whether owned by a multinational parent company; vertically integrated or not) and, on the other, economic performance and capacity to engage in business strategies that sustain growth in a TV landscape increasingly characterised by globalisation and digital multi-platform distribution.

Television production is an important sector of industry both for economic and cultural reasons. Two variables that strongly affect the success of production businesses are, first, the effective management and exploitation of IPRs and, second, scale of activities. Over the last decade, adjustments in UK public policy that enhanced the position of production companies vis-à-vis broadcasters on ownership of IPRs have substantially improved the position of producers and boosted their sales revenues. But, as organic growth has contributed to scale and greater commercial success, this has triggered a recent wave of takeovers of many of the UK's leading independent producers, often by US media conglomerates. A central concern here is to build understanding of the challenges faced in nurturing the development of UK production companies that achieve scale but, at the same time, remain independent.

A further concern is to investigate empirically how a re-structuring of ownership may affect content. Against a background of increased investment interest from multi-nationals in indigenous UK-based players, this project will extend knowledge and theory by interrogating the association between corporate configuration, creative decision-making and cultural content.

Using key case studies, the scope of the investigation will cover:
- the role of changing digital distribution technologies in encouraging consolidation and strategies of horizontal, vertical and transnational expansion in the TV production industry;
- the relationship between, on one hand, size and corporate configuration and, on the other, the ability of production companies to maximise the value of their IPRs and to achieve sustained economic success;
- the conditions that govern creative decision-making and content in the TV production industry and how these are affected by differing corporate configurations;
- implications for public policy and regulation.

At a time of concern about how incumbent TV production companies can adjust successfully to advancing technology and how public policies ought to change to ensure that UK independent production continues to flourish in the global arena, this project and its outputs are intended to deepen and enhance public understanding of creative and business strategies in the context of a rapidly evolving media ecology. Analysis of configuration, strategy, performance, content decision-making and output will provide an empirically-based foundation for the final stage of the research which addresses the challenges posed for regulation and policy by the current re-structuring in ownership of the TV industry. To what extent are market and technological changes threatening the sustainability of a domestically-based independent production sector? How does public policy need to change? Thus, not only will the project contribute to social scientific knowledge and deliver a significant critical and cross-disciplinary contribution to theory in the areas of industrial organization, strategic media management and cultural analysis but also it will provide a valuable resource for television industry professionals, strategists and policy-makers.

A central concern is to build understanding of how the ability of TV production entities to achieve sustained success may be determined by size, vertical structure and corporate ownership configuration. This project will benefit UK production companies by creating new knowledge about how the differing configurations adopted in the sector may affect (a) ability to exploit IPRs across new platforms and international markets and to build sustainable businesses and (b) conditions of creativity and content. At a time when deeper understanding is needed of how technological and market transformations can best be negotiated, UK production companies will benefit from an improved understanding of how adjustments in corporate strategy are likely to affect their efficiency, outputs and economic success.

Another set of beneficiaries is policy-makers. At a time of transformation in distribution technologies and in the economic organization of the TV industry, bodies including Ofcom, BFI, BBC Trust, PACT, ACTE, BIS and DCMS who are involved in making, shaping and implementing policy need improved knowledge to better inform the design of interventions intended to support the development of an economically sustainable and internationally competitive indigenous sector in the UK. The knowledge which this project will generate about the relationship between corporate ownership configuration, economic success and outputs will provide a timely and substantive contribution to policy debates on ownership and on public support for the UK production sector. It will improve the quality of policy debates by increasing understanding of the interplay between ownership structures in contemporary TV industry settings, content and cultural identity. We aim to contribute specific benefits by innovating methodologically in relation to measurement of 'national' content. Little research exists in this area, despite its obvious relevance for policy-making and despite acknowledged deficiencies in existing mechanisms such as the cultural test for 'British' qualifying film and drama.

With regard to how exactly benefit and engagement will be ensured, the project team will use its extensive existing contacts and establish new links with TV production industry participants and policy-making communities to create a dedicated network of stakeholders with a shared interest in the effects of changing technologies and ownership strategies. Regular communication and exchange will be conducted via active participation in novel as well as more traditional arenas for discussion and debate, including internet fora and social media plus newspapers and trade press. The project's website will serve as a primary focus and access point for information. Target beneficiaries in industry and policy-making circles will be proactively alerted to key findings as they emerge (using Twitter and other online fora and emails) in order to encourage engagement, reflection and feedback and to ensure impact is maximised. The project team will foster dialogue with target users via participation in consultations and public debate. CCPR seminars on key emerging themes will be used to ensure productive engagement with target users within industry. Engagement will also be achieved through targeted dissemination of published outputs, attendance at conferences and industry meetings, and an End of Project symposium. We intend to produce a major research monograph (book) and several refereed international journal articles (at least five) by project end in 2019 and will make sure our work is available in Open Access and through relevant online databases such as Glasgow's Enlighten repository and Researchfish. Accessible summaries of main outcomes will be posted on the project site and a Final Report targeted to non-academic beneficiaries will be disseminated as a support resource at the final symposium.