Sports rights hit for six - July/August 2022 - Royal Television Society
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July/August 2022 Sports rights hit for six
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Journal of The Royal Television Society
July/August 2022 l Volume 59/7
From the CEO
The power of sport The growing popularity of Formula 1, in which he outlines how the BFBS
to take us out of our- once regarded as the preserve of pet- Academy is training ex-forces people
selves may be more rol heads, is another screen sports for new civilian jobs in the media,
important than ever. success story. This thrilling sport was such as production management.
Television’s role in the subject of a fascinating joint RTS Another must-read is Shilpa Gana-
allowing us to watch East/RTS Midlands event, which we tra’s report on a recent RTS event in
live sport wherever report inside. which intimacy co-ordinator Vanessa
we are is crucial to our enjoyment of At Wimbledon, we’re seeing the next Coffey and actor Jessica Reynolds
everything from football to Formula 1. generation of talent emerge. New talent spoke eloquently of how this emerging
As our cover story highlights, Indian was very much to the fore at last role is making TV sets feel a lot more
Premier League cricket’s recent inno- month’s RTS Student Television comfortable for those who are required
vative TV and streaming rights deal Awards, which were held in person for to film scenes of an intimate nature.
demonstrates once again the value the first time since 2019. There, we saw Do enjoy the rest of the summer,
of premium sports rights. The IPL’s a glimpse of the remarkable talent our even if you are not a sports fan!
record-breaking, five-year £5.13bn deal industry can draw on in the coming
puts it among the world’s most valu- years. Congratulations to all the win-
able screen sports, ranking with the ners and huge thanks to our brilliant
NFL in the US and the English Premier host, Yinka Bokinni.
League in cost-per-match terms. Don’t miss Simon Bucks’ TV Diary, Theresa Wise
Contents
Cover: Indian Premier League cricketer Pat Cummins (NDTV)
5 Simon Bucks’ TV Diary
Simon Bucks on keeping morale high in the UK’s armed
forces and how the RTS’s journalism awards are evolving 16 An offer too good to refuse?
Kate Bulkley considers the impact that subscription
streaming platform Paramount+ could have in a
crowded UK market
6
Comfort Classic: The Thick of It
Steve Clarke revels in the dog-eat-dog world of
principle-free political advisors roving the dank
undergrowth of power 18 All things bleak and beautiful
Steve Clarke charts the rise and rise of Welsh noir, crime
stories that are giving global audiences a taste of the exotic
7 Ear Candy: Unreal
Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV is an audio cure
for both uncritical indulgence and haughty snobbery,
discovers Harry Bennett
20 Our Friend in the North East
Graeme Thompson hails the launch of North East Screen
– and the room where it happened
8 Working Lives: Executive producer
Multitasking and delegating are critical to being a good
executive producer. Emma Norton tells Matthew Bell
21 Cute but controlling
Sky comedy-horror The Baby lays bare the pitfalls of
motherhood. Shilpa Ganatra ducks behind the highchair
24
she is still working on the delegating A safe place on set
The RTS learns how intimacy co-ordinators are helping
10 Howzat!
Recent deals have the potential to upend the global TV
actors feel comfortable when they shoot TV sex scenes
rights market for premium sport, says Ross Biddiscombe
26 Inside Bristol’s indie powerhouse
Tim Dams talks to Grant Mansfield, founder of natural
12 Racing into pole position
Formula 1 is bigger than ever. The RTS discovers what’s
history specialist Plimsoll, recently bought by ITV
driving its success
28 RTS Student Television Awards 2022
Sponsored by Kinetic Content, the ceremony on 24 June
14 On the right path?
Marcus Ryder assesses what progress the UK TV sector
is making in implementing its diversity initiatives
was hosted by Yinka Bokinni and the awards were
presented by Theresa Wise
Editor News editor and writer Production, design, advertising Sub-editor RTS, 3 Dorset Rise © Royal Television Society 2022
Steve Clarke Matthew Bell Gordon Jamieson Linda Coffey London EC4Y 8EN The views expressed in Television
smclarke_333@hotmail.com bell127@btinternet.com gordon.jamieson.01@gmail.com thelindacoffey@gmail.com T: 020 7822 2810 are not necessarily those of the RTS.
W: www.rts.org.uk Registered Charity 313 728
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 3
TV diary
W
hisper it, awards, and I hope that will attract
but wars more new and diverse entrants.
are good Another change is the introduction
for busi- of a gong for political journalism. It’s
ness at long overdue: political news routinely
BFBS. Our dominates the agenda, but the cor-
job as a respondents tend to be edged out of
charity is to provide entertainment awards by the frontline warriors.
and information to the military, espe- Now is their chance.
cially those overseas. Although (offi-
BFBS
cially) there are no UK boots on the ■ Exciting times at the BFBS Acad-
ground in Ukraine, there are now emy, where we train ex-forces people
several thousand nearby on Nato’s
eastern flank, bordering Russia, and
Simon Bucks on for new civilian jobs in the media. Our
latest venture is a course in produc-
more on their way. keeping morale high in tion management. It’s the ultimate
Thanks to the generosity of the win-win: there is a serious dearth of
broadcasters and rights owners, we the UK’s armed forces production managers and production
give them great TV plus radio, and how the RTS’s co-ordinators in TV and film.
e-newspapers and magazines. People who have served in the
A key device is the MiPlayer, devel- journalism awards military have many of the skills and
oped in-house. It cleverly converts
satellite signals to live streams and
are evolving qualities for the job: they are good at
logistics, they are organised and
catch-up delivered to the forces’ own resourceful, and work well in teams.
phones, tablets, laptops and smart Our friends across the industry have
TVs. It’s an internet-connected expe- ■ As a CEO, you rarely get a credit on helped develop the syllabus; the first
rience without the internet, and an a TV programme, so I was chuffed to trainees start in September and will be
amazing morale booster. executive produce a fascinating doc- on the jobs market early next year.
umentary, written and presented by
■ A sad phone call to tell me Sir Stewart Purvis, another former (and ■ For more than a decade, I cam-
David Nicholas, the great ITN editor, top) ITN boss. It’s a remarkable account paigned, alongside colleagues from
has died, aged 92. He was a remark- of a “psychological operations” across the industry, to televise trials.
able innovator, and television jour- Spanish-language radio station set up The courts are a cornerstone of
nalism owes him a colossal debt. His by the Ministry of Defence during the democracy, helping shape society, we
proudest achievement was the cre- Falklands conflict to demoralise the argued, so the public had a right to
ation of News at Ten: for many years Argentinians. My Secret Falklands War is see their workings on video.
not just an appointment to view but on our Forces News YouTube channel. In 2020, the Government announced
a household brand. Stewart spent eight years chasing a small step: the televising of judges’
David was also a mentor to many down the story, and his enthusiasm sentencing remarks in Crown courts
of us. He once rang me after an espe- for a gripping yarn is undimmed even – but the glacial progress of change in
cially challenging News at Ten and said after half a century in the business. the judiciary means we are still wait-
in his quiet Welsh lilt: “I’ll never bol- ing for it to happen.
lock you for something you’ve done ■ The RTS Television Journalism In truth, this was always going to
– only for something you haven’t Awards, which I chair, are undoubt- be a slow-burn revolution. It took
done.” It was a good lesson: risk aver- edly the gold-standard of high 10 years to persuade the authorities
sion doesn’t make for great TV. quality. But it’s vital to give them a to allow cameras into the Court of
David always put the news ahead of regular health check, so, with the Appeal, plus nearly the same again to
the money, resulting in regular rows help of RTS colleagues and the neu- achieve this further, modest conces-
with his ITV paymasters. Eventually, tral chairs, we have overhauled the sion. So, I don’t expect the full Rum-
the harsh economic realities of com- criteria to keep them relevant. pole in my lifetime, or possibly ever.
mercial television were too much, and Online video journalism in all its
he wisely quit while he was ahead. forms is now cemented into the Simon Bucks is Chief Executive of BFBS.
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 5
COMFORT CLASSIC
The Thick of It
BBC
A
rmando Iannucci, who four series, initially on BBC Four before
cut his creative teeth Steve Clarke revels in promotion to BBC Two, this part-
on such wondrous
radio fare as the news
the dog-eat-dog world improvised show delighted fans, thanks
to a cast of fully realised characters,
lampoon On the Hour, of principle-free political superb acting and a script that crackles
and fizzes with so much energy that you
revealed recently that
the inspiration for creating his era-
advisors roving the dank could almost run the National Grid off it.
defining political satire The Thick of It, undergrowth of power Its shaky-camera, documentary style
was the Iraq war. He was infuriated by adds to the feeling of verisimilitude.
what he saw as Prime Minister Tony What started out as a manic, exple-
Blair’s willingness to “twist the narra- public could glean an idea of what tive-laden satire on the Blair-Brown
tive” in order to justify his support for went on behind the closed doors off years morphed into a mordant, exple-
what many regarded as a woefully the corridors of power in Whitehall and tive-laden commentary on the Camer-
ill-thought-through conflict. Millbank, where spin doctors, special on-led coalition by the time of 2012’s
Recently the subject of Radio 4’s advisors (Spads) and their hapless season 4, The Thick of It’s final bow.
excellent This Cultural Life, he told inter- accomplices practise their dark arts. “It’s While we are on expletives – more
viewer John Wilson that, like so many not about showing a scandal. I want to of which later – it is said that the show
of us, he had – uncharacteristically – know the dull stuff – what time does holds the record for the number of
taken to the streets in protest at the war. a minister get in,” explained Iannucci. “fucks” uttered in a single TV episode
He said he didn’t want to write a The result was The Thick of It, a comic – averaging one every 12 seconds for
polemic but to craft a comedy that gen- masterpiece famously described by its episode 7 of season 3, since you ask.
uinely had something to say. The aim creator as “Yes Minster meets The Larry The comic monster at the apex of
was to make a show from which the Sanders Show”. Over seven years and The Thick of It is, of course,
6
viper-mouthed Scottish spin-doctor-
Ear candy
in-chief Malcolm Tucker, played to
uptight perfection by Peter Capaldi.
Iannucci, who also directed The
Thick of It, denied the character was
modelled on Alastair Campbell, New
Labour’s tormented communications
maestro. Tucker was, according to his
creator, based on Harvey Weinstein,
whom Iannucci presumably encoun-
tered when pitching what became the
spin-off movie, In the Loop.
For connoisseurs of bad language,
Tucker’s ability to be jaw-droppingly
profane borders on the Shakesperian.
The internet is littered with such choice
examples as Tucker dressing down an
MP: “You’re so back-bench, you’ve
actually fucking fallen off. You’re out by
the fucking bins where I put you.” Or
Tucker complaining about a minister:
“He’s about as much use as a marzipan
Unreal
dildo.” And Tucker to a pair of rival
advisors: “Laurel and fucking Hardy!
Glad you could join us. Did you manage
to get that piano up the stairs OK?”
Researching The Thick of It, Iannucci Love Island
ITV
was struck by how young the people
I
who inhabit this tawdry world are.
They had “no life experience” and ’ve started watching Love As a result, each episode stops off at
didn’t know “how to run a car, let Island this year but, for every one of 10 stages between 2000 and the
alone a country”. great water-cooler chat I’ve present day. They begin with the talent
This characteristic is personified in had about the previous night’s show boom, epitomised by the likes of
Ollie Reeder (Chris Addison), a gauche drama, there’s been a nose The X Factor, and the rise of influencer
and gawky Oxbridge-educated Spad turned up at the very mention factories such as Love Island.
who inevitably takes over as head of of the show. Laced with recordings of reality TV’s
comms when Tucker meets his neme- I say this not simply to air my griev- most glorious – and notorious –
sis in series 4. ances but to recommend a defence moments, it makes for a fun listen.
Rebecca Front is consistently against such snobbery. Pandora Sykes At least at times.
compelling as gaffe-prone MP Nicola and Sirin Kale’s new 10-part podcast, There are others when it is disturb-
Murray, as, too, is a young and not yet Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV, makes ing. Especially episode 3 on the early
famous Joanna Scanlan, who plays a thorough case for the genre’s cultural 2000s, when it’s clear that reality TV
prudish press officer Terri Coverley. significance, without turning a blind eye tested the limits of the genre in pursuit
It is sometimes suggested that today to its shaky ethical foundations. of a fast buck, be it by depriving
we need a satire like The Thick of It Many would assume that Marcus people of sleep in Shattered, or asking
more than ever, but when rules are Bentley talked reality TV into existence an adopted daughter to correctly pick
regularly flouted by populist leaders, in 2000 with those seminal words, out her biological father in a room full
the satirist’s job becomes especially “Day 1 in the Big Brother house”. of strangers in Who’s Your Daddy?
challenging. Tellingly, Iannucci said on Although that is their jumping-off point, That we, the audience, continue to
This Cultural Life that The Thick of It came Sykes and Kale pinpoint the genre’s lap up such dubious formats is not lost
“from a golden time when there were origins as 1948 with Candid Camera, on Sykes and Kale. They confess to
rules in politics”. What would Malcolm which crossed the pond in 1960. any shows they regret enjoying. And
Tucker make of Boris Johnson’s Their point is that our appreciation they constantly challenge our own
beleaguered administration? For once, for the art of authenticity is nothing new, viewing motives.
would he be lost for expletives? n although Big Brother clearly sparked an It is a critical history to train critical
explosion of the genre from which viewers. n
The Thick of It is streamed on BritBox. we’re still experiencing the fallout. Harry Bennett
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 7
WORKING LIVES
Executive producer
Conversations with Friends
BBC
Emma Norton’s TV debut as an through the traditional TV route. There Who do you work with closely on
executive producer was on Normal are plenty of different challenges in a production?
People, and she has followed it up with television, but my film background is The writers and directors, the execu-
two more hits, RTÉ/BritBox comedy- an asset and I’m not shy about asking tive producers, series producer, heads
drama The Dry and a second helping of lots of questions. of department and the script team.
Sally Rooney for the BBC, Conversations
with Friends. What was the first film you worked on? What are the biggest challenges of
I script edited Lenny Abrahamson’s the job?
What does the job involve? What Richard Did shortly after moving It’s a marathon – it takes a huge burst
Executive producers, and there are to Ireland to work for Element Pictures. of energy to get a project up and run-
usually more than one on a show, are It was a particularly memorable ning, and then you’ve got to sustain
across everything: creative develop- experience because my husband, that energy. Through every stage to the
ment; scripting; casting and crewing; Malcolm Campbell, wrote the film. very end, you have to maintain quality
financing; the shoot; the edit; and mar- and apply the same level of care. Last
keting and publicity. Essentially, the What was your first show as an year, I had three TV shows in produc-
role lasts for the lifespan of a project. executive producer? tion, and two of them – The Dry and
Normal People, which was a huge but very Conversations with Friends – are out now.
Do you focus on any particular areas? satisfying learning curve. Knowing a lot The other is Shane Meadows’ first period
On the projects I’ve executive of the team so well from the start made television drama, The Gallows Pole.
produced so far, I’ve been heavily the transition easier and meant that we The work is undoubtedly intense
involved in all the editorial work, had a shorthand with each other. and there are points when you wonder
casting, creative decisions during the if you have enough in the tank to keep
shoot and post-production – the key What makes a good executive going. It’s hard work but, on the plus
story-engine areas of a TV show. producer? side, it’s never boring.
Having confidence in your own taste
How did you become an executive and, given that so many things are What’s a typical working day like?
producer? going on at once, the ability to multi- It depends what stage we are at on
I came to the role via development; task and delegate. I’m still working on a production. Like a lot of people, I’ve
primarily working in film, rather than being a good delegator. been working at home for the past
8
‘THE VARIETY IS
THE BEST [PART
OF THE JOB]; THE
SCALE OF THE JOB
IS THE WORST’
I left university, but I always liked
reading and was always able to
immerse myself deeply in stories –
I’ve monetised that.
Could you have become a writer?
You need to know your skills and
limitations – I’m good at reacting to
writing and finessing it; I’m not a
BritBox
writer. Be honest with yourself about
The Dry
your strengths and weaknesses. This
industry is hard and you have to
couple of years: I’m only just coming Is there a difference between executive work to your strengths. My first job
back into the office now. At the producing a TV programme and a film? was as an agent’s assistant. I was fired
moment, I’m developing new projects The time frame is hugely different. – I wasn’t suited to it.
so there are a lot of script meetings, With [the Roddy Doyle-penned and
lots of reading, deals to make and Paddy Breathnach-directed] low- Which show are you most proud
talent searches – and a lot of emails. budget film Rosie, it was four weeks of producing?
of intense work on set and a relatively That’s like asking, “Who is your
What do you bring to work with you? fast development period before that. favourite child?” But, if I had to pick
An iPad and pen; a KeepCup because Conversations with Friends for TV was at one thing, it would be The Dry by
I need a lot of coffee; a notebook; and least two solid years of intensity. Nancy Harris. It took a long time to get
two phones – one work, one personal. it off the ground. Getting an original
I try to keep the two separate. Have you had to learn a lot about series funded is not an easy task. I’ve
finance? loved working on all my other projects,
What are the best and worst parts of That certainly wasn’t my background, but this one succeeded against the
the job? and I’m lucky that Element Pictures odds and I’m really proud of that.
The variety is the best; the scale of the has a great business affairs team.
job is the worst – they’re essentially Personally, working in development What TV series or genre would you
two sides of the same coin. taught me about budgeting and fund- love to work on?
ing. At Element, Andrew Lowe has a I’ve done a lot of character-based work
How has the TV and film industry creative input but he does more on the recently, where plot is less prominent.
changed since you started? financing, which is his area of exper- When I watched Mare of Easttown, I was
The desire for content has increased so tise; Ed Guiney spans both sides; and just so hooked – it has a big crime plot
rapidly and the intensity of production I probably do more on the creative side. as well as great character arcs. I grew up
has risen to meet that. Element Pictures watching Taggart, Cracker and Morse, and
works across television and film, What advice would you give to reading loads of Agatha Christie – so I’d
simultaneously creating things for very someone wanting to work towards love to work on something like that. n
different markets. Initially, my career becoming an executive producer?
was very focused on film and now it’s Use your interests and enthusiasms to Emma Norton was interviewed by
both. It’s exciting. guide you. I had no career plan when Matthew Bell.
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 9
The operational merger of BT Sport
with WBD’s Eurosport will, for the time
being, maintain the existing brands and
customer offerings. The telco, having
spent an estimated £890m on sports
rights in 2021 alone, and having
cemented its position as the UK’s num-
ber one broadband provider by using
live sport as bait, must now find ways to
work with WBD, which will take on the
day-to-day running of the joint venture.
With UK sports fans increasingly
happy to watch their favourite sport on
streaming services, the ground is shift-
ing in the traditional UK pay-TV busi-
ness. Specialist sports apps are readily
available, but a central question is
whether or not the cost of UK live
sports rights will rise again.
While Mike Darcey, media consultant
and former chief operating officer at
Sky, believes the newly merged operator
will make bidding for rights such as the
English Premier League trickier, there
is potential to bring down costs.
“Going for more rights will be com-
plicated with the joint venture in place,
because BT will not want to fund such
a move, and it will be difficult for WBD
to pursue this unilaterally,” he says. “If
WBD ever exercises its buyout [option]
Delhi Capitals captain on the joint venture, then perhaps [we
Rishabh Pant playing could see] a further push. The question
against Mumbai is: how strong does WBD thinks its
Indians in the Indian
sports offering needs to be to fulfil its
NDTV
Premier League
broader strategic objective?”
Howzat!
Tim Westcott, senior principal
analyst for digital content and
channels at Omdia, believes that, with
WBD at the helm, BT’s “loss leader”
approach to new broadband subscrib-
ers is unlikely to continue. He notes:
“BT reported an operating loss of
£287m in the last financial year.
Despite long-term carriage agreements
Recent deals have the potential to upend the with BT and Sky, the new owners may
need to curb sports rights costs to
global TV rights market for premium sport. bring the joint venture into profit.”
It has been clear since last spring
Ross Biddiscombe investigates that BT has wanted to focus on its
R
£12bn rollout of full-fibre broadband
ecent events in the BT’s deal with WBD also has impli- and on a new 5G mobile network, but
sports rights industry cations for Amazon and other digital questions around content remain
will both reinvigorate platform behemoths that are poised to because its contracts for the Premier
and reset the battle for increase their live sports content. League and European football run until
live TV sport in the UK On top of this, in June, the sale of 2025 and 2024, respectively.
and beyond. Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket Jack Genovese, research manager for
The 50:50 joint venture between BT rights broke a 20-year-old pattern for sports at Ampere Analysis, believes any
and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), such auctions. Some matches were sold changes in the sports rights market
agreed in May, will have ramifications “exclusively” to two different domestic will probably be slow to emerge: “All
for all the major rights holders. These bidders – one broadcasting terrestrially major sports rights are currently
include the dominant live sports broad- and the other digitally. Analysts now locked into pre-existing deals in the
caster, Sky, which continues to have its wonder if this style of rights selling UK until 2024. The lack of tier-one
own sports partnerships with WBD. could become a worldwide trend. sports rights in WBD/Eurosport’s
10portfolio [with the exception of the prices get too silly. But if it thinks it five years, cricket became the world’s
Paris Olympics in 2024] suggests that can maintain that position at lower second-most-expensive TV sport –
the impact on subscriptions is going to cost, then it will try to do so.” but what was more shocking was that
be relatively contained.” Omdia’s Westcott points out that Sky the Indian domestic deals broke the
Ampere estimates that Discovery in Italy and Canal+ in France have tacit agreement over exclusivity.
represented only about 1% of the total already faced up to the loss of league Darcey explains: “The IPL has done
spend on sports rights in the UK in football “without suffering too much”. precisely what the Premier League
2021; BT accounted for about 25%; Moreover, WBD President and CEO, shied away from in 2000 (and ever
while Sky’s market share amounted David Zaslav, has a track record of not since), and what regulators have con-
to 54%, or £1.9bn. Genovese says: paying over the odds for content of sistently been too scared to impose – it
“Eurosport’s rights portfolio, which any kind. sold ‘broadcast’ and ‘digital’ rights to the
boasts popular events such as the next Managers at Sky have raised the same set of matches, in the same terri-
Olympics, will complement BT Sport’s possibility of a Sky minus premium tory, to two separate pay providers.”
existing rights portfolio.” sport. Most recently, Sky Sports Man- It remains to be seen whether other
From WBD’s perspective, the driver aging Director, Jonathan Licht, has said rights holders, such as the Premier
League, can sell “double exclusive”
matches in the UK or other countries.
The day after the IPL announce-
ment, Apple stumped up a reported
$2.5bn for Major League Soccer in the
US. An executive involved in the bids
for IPL told the Financial Times: “Sports
rights are a very strange beast, it seems,
because nothing seems to stop their
march. People don’t want to be left out
and the fact is, people consume sport
regardless [of the economic climate].”
Shortly before Television went to
press, Amazon secured the UK rights
– split with existing holder BT Sport –
to broadcast live Champions League
football from 2024 to 2027. With
Europe’s premier club championship
Andy Murray playing in
Eurosport
expanding, BT will, in fact, show more
the tennis doubles at the
matches live. Amazon will have first
2020 Tokyo Olympics
pick of Tuesday-night games. The deal
also sees highlights return to terrestrial
for the joint venture is to accelerate the that the loss of EPL rights would be TV on a midweek BBC Match of the Day
growth of Discovery+. Ampere’s survey “upsetting” but that the business was show. Amazon already holds the UK
of UK sports fans last year showed that no longer reliant on any one property. rights to 20 Premier League matches
only 9% subscribe to Discovery+, The other looming questions about a season.
whereas 33% have BT Sport. UK sports rights involve the future Initially, BT Sport and Discovery
Sky has to deal with the threat of strategies of the big tech platforms, as subscribers are set to receive BT Sport
a new challenger while controlling its well as those of legacy media players and Discovery+. Subsequently, a single,
own sports rights spending. At one time, such as Disney and Paramount (Via- newly branded streaming sports ser-
it looked as if sports streamer DAZN com). Commentators are still uncertain vice will launch with a huge range of
would become BT’s partner – but the about whether Amazon will press fur- top events.
streamer eventually pulled out. ther into sports, whether Disney will Westcott believes that football
Unlike DAZN, both WBD and Sky try to replicate its ESPN-type tactics remains key to the future of UK sports
have a commitment to programming beyond the US, and what role Apple broadcasting. While the market for
other than sports as subscription and Netflix might play in sports rights. pay-TV sports subscriptions has pla-
drivers. Darcey says that, although Sky Darcey says it is not clear whether teaued, it is still the case that 10 million
– which pays £6m for every live Pre- sport will become part of the broader UK households are prepared to spend
mier League match – has massively battleground between the SVoDs. “But £20 a month for premium sport.
upped its investment in original shows, it seems a bit parochial to think that, if “If operators choose not to invest as
it is not a case of “either or”. “Sport is this is happening, we will see it first much to secure the rights to support
still very important to Sky and it will here in the UK, triggered by a local that business, the option for rights
want to remain the clear number-one joint venture, as opposed to it starting holders to go it alone is much more
sports bundle.” The question is, he in the US or somewhere else in the viable than it was in 2013,” says West-
says: “How much sport is needed to world,” he says. cott. “The next Premier League rights
sustain this position? Indeed, the way the IPL cricket rights auction will determine in which direc-
“Sky has already scaled back and let were diced for the 2023-27 cycle could tion the market goes.” n
many properties go elsewhere. This be the most telling. With $6.2bn being
shows it is willing to walk away if paid for 410 IPL games over the next Additional reporting by Kate Bulkley.
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 11Racing into
pole position
Clive Rose/Getty Images
British Grand Prix 2022 at Silverstone
O
nce the preserve of brilliant broadcast partners… at Sky,
petrol heads, Formula 1 Formula 1 is bigger than Channel 4 and across the world, recently
has become a hugely ever. The RTS discovers ESPN in the US, putting their shoulder
popular television behind it. We’re seeing a lot of younger
sport. On the eve of what’s driving its success fans. The events are all sold out, as well,
the British Grand Prix which looks good on TV…. There’s a lot
at Silverstone, an RTS panel – featur- According to Formula 1, the cumula- more activity in the digital space too.”
ing experts from three broadcasters tive TV audience for 2021 was 1.55 bil- F1 is a technical and complicated
– discussed how the motor sport has lion, up 4% from the 2020 season. The sport, which attracts both casual
found its va-va-voom. jump in the UK, though, was huge – a viewers and expert fans. “[Our] ethos
Dean Locke, director of broadcast rise of 39%, year on year. Last year’s title is to… cover [the sport] in a way that
and media for Formula 1, who is decider in Abu Dhabi, which saw Max everyone can understand,” said Locke,
celebrating 25 years at the host broad- Verstappen pip Lewis Hamilton to the who stressed the importance of intelli-
caster and sport’s owner, said: “The fan title on the final lap of the race, drew a gible and informative graphics.
base is growing hugely.” He added that combined peak TV audience of 7.4 mil- Another F1 veteran, Sky Sports pit
the phenomenally successful Netflix lion on Channel 4 and Sky Sports. lane reporter Ted Kravitz, has worked
documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Locke identified other factors behind for a quarter of a century at ITV, the
Survive, which has taken cameras F1’s success: “There are lots of incre- BBC and now Sky, as the motor sport’s
behind the scenes at race tracks since mental things. We’ve had some really UK rights moved from broadcaster to
2019, “is a big part of that”. good championships and we have broadcaster.
12“We’ll find whatever way we can,
whether it’s technically complex
or quite simple, to explain what’s
[happening],” said Kravitz.
Frequently, that involves the reporter
taking an idiosyncratic approach. At
June’s Canadian Grand Prix, he sat on a
skateboard – at much the same height
Ted Kravitz Rosanna Tennant
off the ground as he would be been in
a Mercedes – and was then pulled at
30kph across the tarmac to give an
idea of what drivers George Russell
and Lewis Hamilton go through.
“The great thing about Formula 1 is
that the more you know about it, the
more you want to know,” he added.
RTS
Since 2019, Sky Sports has held Dean Locke Alex Jacques
exclusive UK rights to all F1 races,
excluding the British Grand Prix.
Channel 4 has free-to-air highlights
Views from the commentary box
rights and covers the British Grand
Prix, with Sky, live. Alex Jacques: ‘It’s your job to tell the ‘I also take the view of Murray
Channel 4’s lead F1 commentator, story, not to say what you think… It’s Walker – I was lucky enough to work
Alex Jacques, explained how he the job of those who’ve been there for Murray as his commentary box
approaches his job: “Sometimes, and done that… to give their opinions. spotter [for ITV]. I think Murray did like
there’s a misconception that [the high- [Former-drivers] David Coulthard and some drivers more than others – he
lights are] edited and then we talk Mark Webber – it’s their opinion that was close to Damon Hill because
about it afterwards… that wouldn’t carries weight, they’ve got experience he knew his dad, Graham – but you
work with the timeframe [in which] and they’ve risked their necks to get it… would never have known what Murray
we have to turn around the show. ‘If you start favouring one or the thought…
“We have to lose about 30% of the other [driver], you get found out pretty ‘You approach it from the view of
race in terms of the broadcast… That quickly by the audience and that’s just what the fans would want to know.…
changes the way you commentate for not what you’re paid to do.’ It’s not my department to have a view…
highlights… you know that there are ‘The position I always take is: “What
times to hang a killer stat that explains Ted Kravitz: ‘I don’t care who wins would I want asked if I was a fan sitting
why Lewis Hamilton is having a diffi- and who loses, and that makes it so at home?” ’
cult season. You will hang that on a liberating. When I was a kid, I liked
part… that is not going to be cut… but Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna – and Alex Jacques: ‘I’ve seen football com-
the rest of the time you’re reacting like I cared.… I would turn on the TV and… mentators talk about scripting lines,
you would for a live broadcast. I used to get nervous at the start of a but… I’d worry about trying to take lines
“If you did it the other way, the race; my heartbeat used to go up.… It’s off a piece of paper. The best stuff, I
viewer would instantly know.… It’s an such a release if you just don’t care… think, comes off the top of your head.’
incredibly complex and dynamic sport
[with] a really perceptive audience.…
It’s got to be ‘as live’ for that authentic- “Obviously, when you’re at the been… predominately white, predomi-
ity, and then you’ve got to hope you track you need the camera and sound nately middle class – there’s been such
don’t deliver a killer line that’s left on people [but] more or less everyone else a change and it’s happening so quickly.
the cutting-room floor.” who would normally be in the TV It’s so good to see.
Coverage is part remote, part from compound can be somewhere else. “We’re reaching communities that
trackside. The Covid-19 pandemic “We were doing this before Covid at were once not served particularly well
accelerated remote working and fast- Sky… it’s been incredible the amount by Formula 1.… There’s a much more
tracked a long-term F1 sustainability of air miles and CO2 [saved. We now diverse audience… and that’s reflected
project. “We thought we had a few years use] sea freight… to move sets.” in the people working in Formula 1,
to do it and then we ended up doing it Looking to the future of the sport, the drivers getting into it.… It is going
in seven weeks,” recalled Locke. For- Locke argued that its coverage would to take a few more years, but we are
mula 1’s media technology centre at continue on “the trajectory we’re on getting there.” n
Biggin Hill on the outskirts of south-east now”. He added: “It’s [about] making it
London now takes camera feeds from easy to watch… and available in which- Report by Matthew Bell. The joint RTS
the track where the race is directed. ever way you want it.” East/RTS Midlands event, ‘F1 on screen’,
Kravitz added: “Sky has a big drive Motor sport broadcasters are con- was hosted by Sky Sports F1 presenter
to be a completely carbon neutral stantly looking for new and, more Rosanna Tennant on 23 June. It was pro-
broadcaster.… It was unsustainable to importantly, diverse audiences. “It’s duced by RTS East Chair Tony Campbell
continue air-freighting all the… vision a top priority for Sky,” said Kravitz. and RTS Midlands Committee member
mixing, directing and sound desks. “[Lewis Hamilton] is right – F1 has Sindy Campbell.
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 13Marcus Ryder assesses Big Age, part
of Channel 4’s
what progress the UK Black to Front
TV sector is making
in implementing its
diversity initiatives
Channel 4
On the right path?
O
n 25 May 2022, I held resolve long-standing and entrenched successfully implement Black to Front.
an online memorial inequalities. But, as the saying goes, So, early on, the broadcaster consulted
to mark the second “Talk is cheap.” with the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for
anniversary of the The biggest and most high-profile Media Diversity (LHC).
murder of George policy initiative of the past 12 months, Obviously, as LHC’s head of external
Floyd. In the public and possibly a defining moment in consultancies, I have a vested interest,
discourse, Floyd’s death has become British television’s attempt to address but broadcasters recognising the need
much more than the death of one its issues around black representation, for external support in general is essen-
black man in police custody, some- behind and in front of the camera, was tial to achieve progress.
thing that happens far too often. The Channel 4’s Black to Front project, Channel 4 knew it was not going to
murder sparked global Black Lives which took place on 10 September achieve its target of 100% black rep-
Matter protests, symbolising structural last year. resentation behind the camera, but
racial inequalities across the world and This was a day of programming that finding out where it had difficulty
the need to address them. featured 100% black talent in front of filling positions enabled it to look at
This led to numerous major the camera and an attempt to maxim- how to focus on these problem areas.
companies and organisations not only ise black representation behind it. I am Finally, it did not “mark its own
acknowledging the issues facing black not suggesting repeating Black to Front, homework.” Channel 4 went back to the
people, but also announcing policies to but all broadcasters would gain by LHC to assess what it had done and
address them. looking at how the channel approached where it had gone wrong. The principle
In the UK, the television industry developing and implementing the pol- of having third-party evaluation is
was at the forefront of declaring the icy. What might easily have been an another important policy development
need to address the racial inequalities insulting gimmick could prove to be a that broadcasters had not previously
that have plagued it for far too long. model for how broadcasters create and adopted (at least, not publicly).
I am proud to work in an industry initiate anti-racism, diversity and inclu- While Channel 4’s approach to Black
that publicly took such a proactive sion policies in the future. to Front is welcome, it also highlights
approach in accepting it has failed Channel 4 recognised that it did not that the television industry still has
black people and declaring the need to have the necessary skills in-house to a long way to go to achieve racial
14equality – and little has changed since Similarly, LHC also wrote a paper definition of “out of London” – and
the project aired. for Channel 4 on “intersectionality”, what was and wasn’t a regional indie
Certain key positions, such as studio the concept that people can possess – that real progress was made. Broad-
director, set design and black talent multiple protected characteristics: the casters being permitted to create their
outside of London, clearly suffer from issues facing a disabled black woman own definitions (and definitions that
a severe skills shortage. may be different from those facing are different from those of other
The Channel 4 experience also a gay black man – although they will broadcasters) – is concerning: it has
demonstrates that there is still a lot also share some common issues. proved unsuccessful in the past.
of work to be done to foster and grow This cultural move – recognising The other elephant in the room is
black-led indies, which have had lim- that it is important to capture a more retention of top talent, especially in
ited success in gaining commissions. granular picture of the diversity of broadcasters’ diversity departments:
The success of Black to Front points
to another glaring problem bedevilling Broadcasters recognise they
all broadcasters – the lack of black need to address the problems
commissioners. Channel 4 acknowl- faced by black-led indies
edges that the project would not have
happened without Vivienne Molokwu,
commissioning editor for features.
Black commissioners are still the
exception rather than the norm and
those who do exist are predominantly
in junior roles.
While Channel 4’s Black to Front is
useful for taking the temperature of
the industry in general, it should be
noted that the last year has been
marked by other major trends.
Twelve months ago, when I assessed
in Television how the broadcasters had
done since George Floyd’s murder,
McKinsey & Company
I concluded by saying; “It would be
churlish of me not to recognise and
applaud the fact that the vast majority of
them rolled out new policies.… However,
most of the policies have been unclear
about the most important aspect of the
television industry – programme
finance. And the policies are not focused your black workforce in order to the BBC and Channel 4 both saw key
on the fundamental issue raised by the implement policies to address specific members leave. This could be an indi-
protests – anti-black racism.” issues – is an important development. cation that there are internal problems
The good news is that many of the The three major PSB broadcasters, around diversity at the broadcasters
broadcasters seem to have heard the the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, have also that have not yet come to light.
criticism and tried to address the two recognised the importance of finance in Finally, there is anecdotal evidence
main points: financing and recognising addressing under-representation. They of serious cultural issues within the
the importance of focusing on anti- have all announced some form of ring- BBC concerning “black inclusion”. It
black racism – as opposed to more fenced funding for black and ethnic- seems that senior editorial staff see
general racism and discrimination minority programmes. However, this Black Lives Matter as a controversial
against people of colour, important as has been bedevilled by a lack of clarity political term that its journalists cannot
they are. around the financing, with the BBC discuss freely in public. However, most
The best example over the past year possibly being the most confusing. In black journalists I have spoken to view
of this culture change in heeding anti- one press release, it explicitly called it it as a broader anti-racist term in line
black racism is the report the LHC “ring-fenced” funding while denying with the corporation’s public values.
conducted for all the PSBs (although in public that it is ring-fenced funding. Even two years in, it is too early to
sponsored by the BBC) on the term The other big trend is that all the tell if progress has been made. There
BAME (black, Asian and minority broadcasters have tried to address the seems to have been a positive cultural
ethnic). Although the report was osten- problems facing black-led indies. shift to diversity and how policy is
sibly about racial language, and focused While it is too early to tell whether approached, but there are also some
particularly on news reporting, the fact the policies around ring-fenced fund- concerns that broadcasters need to
that it was commissioned demon- ing and black-led indies will bear fruit, address. They almost definitely require
strated a clear understanding that there are some worrying problems that the intervention of Ofcom and Pact.
lumping all “non-white” people the industry should be aware of. Vive la révolution or plus ça change? n
together under one umbrella has One lesson from recent history is
serious policy implications when that it wasn’t until Ofcom and Pact Marcus Ryder is a founder member of the
trying to address specific issues. agreed a standard, industry-wide Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity.
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 15a streaming subscription already have
The Offer
three or more services. Will they pay
for another one? “Netflix, Amazon
Prime and Disney+ are the top three in
the UK,” says Tim Westcott, Omdia
senior principal analyst, digital content
and channels. “Breaking into that top
three is going to be a tall order.”
Paramount+, costing £6.99 a month
but free to Sky Cinema subscribers,
launched with 8,000 hours of content
spanning movies, new originals and
other TV shows, plus library fare.
Received SVoD wisdom is that, to
be a success, Paramount+ must find
the exclusive hits that will drive sub-
scribers to pay for the service – as
Netflix has traditionally done with the
likes of The Crown, Sex Education and,
recently, Squid Game.
Paramount+ is trying to mirror the
Netflix originals formula with US-made
1883, The Offer, Mayor of Kingstown and
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, plus
Showtime’s The First Lady and The Man
Who Fell to Earth.
But most importantly for the UK mar-
ket, the streamer announced 19 locally
An offer
commissioned dramas, documentaries
and other unscripted content, including
Sexy Beast (from Chapter One), A Gentle-
man in Moscow (eOne), Flatshare (42), The
Burning Girls (Buccaneer Media), The
too good
Ex-Wife (co-produced by Clapperboard
Studios, BlackBox Multimedia, Night
Train Media and All3Media Interna-
tional) and The Blue (New Pictures).
to refuse?
On the unscripted and documentary
side there is Fashion House (Lambent,
All3Media International and Night
Train Media) and Blowing LA (Fulwell 73
Paramount+
and Endeavor Content), among others.
“A key feature of Paramount+ is that
we are going to build upon UK scripted
and factual production,” says Dan Fahy,
Kate Bulkley considers the impact that senior vice-president for streaming,
UK, at Paramount.
subscription streaming platform Paramount+ The company is well established in
the UK through its ownership of the
could have in a crowded UK market thriving Channel 5, as well as pay
T
channels MTV and other ViacomCBS
he UK launch of streaming numerous TV brands, which include brands. Omdia’s Westcott notes that
service Paramount+ last MTV, Showtime and Nickelodeon, and Paramount “could always move new
month was accompanied originals series such as Star Trek: Strange commissions on to Paramount+”.
by a showbiz spectacle New Worlds and another sci-fi hit, Halo, Despite the announcement about
featuring such celebrities as will present a compelling mix to sub- original productions, some analysts
Graham Norton, who pre- scribers. But with so much choice in believe that Paramount will still focus
sents the service’s drag singing compe- the UK market and people grappling on its established franchises to attract
tition, Queen of the Universe, and Kevin with a cost-of-living crisis, can Para- early subscribers.
Costner, star of Yellowstone. They took mount+ cut through and mount an “Local productions are important
to the red carpet and Uma Thurman effective challenge to Netflix, Disney+ for generating publicity and column
fronted a star-studded promo video. and other incumbent players? inches and good for promoting a new
Best known as a movie studio, Para- Recent consumer research by Omdia service, but I think Paramount will
mount hopes this legacy, along with its found that 41% of UK households with focus more on the known brands,” says
16Paramount+
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Westcott. “What will be important for building FAST [free advertising-
Paramount+ in the UK is a first window ‘THE BREADTH supported TV] channels on Pluto, and
for new original series and movies
– which I believe will go on to the
OF THE OFFER MTV content on My5 and on Pluto. So,
there is a kind of flywheel of audience
streamer 45 days after cinema release. IS GOING TO BE direction and reinforcement between
More of the appeal will be around big
brands such as Star Trek and South Park.” THE BIGGEST the services because none of them sit in
the same segment as each other.”
Fahy emphasised the wide range of
Paramount’s content, which caters
SUBSCRIPTION But Guy Bisson at Ampere Analysis
cautions that Paramount is “not
for all age groups and both men and DRIVER FOR US’ a particularly known brand in the UK”,
women: “There will be some big certainly not beyond film.
calling-card franchise names but it’s Another issue is how to avoid con-
actually the breadth of the offer that’s profitability, rather than adding sumer frustration with discovering
going to be the biggest subscription subscribers regardless of the cost. content they might want to watch.
driver for us,” he says. Indeed, the slowdown validates “Content exclusivity alone as a draw
“It’s true that we have some strong plans by Netflix and Disney to add for a streaming service is past,” says
franchises such as Transformers, which advertising tiers to their subscription Richard Halton, director at Roku UK.
is a theatrical title that we are building services later this year. In the UK, “Now, it’s about innovating the service
into a kids’ animated series,” adds Fahy. Paramount+ will also face the launch itself and our focus is on how we help
“It’s the same with Sonic [the Hedge- of ITVX, the broadcaster’s new, pri- consumers discover and navigate to
hog], where we are doing an animated marily ad-supported, streaming ser- the shows that they want.”
series with Idris Elba as the lead char- vice expected to debut in November. After the UK, the international roll-
acter’s voice. So, yes, we do have strong Paramount+ is launching ad-free. out of Paramount+ will continue, with
franchises that cross over from film, to Its ownership of the My5 on-demand Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria
TV series, to kids – but there are also service and Pluto TV (an ad-supported and France expected by the end of this
standalone projects that are not streamer of both on-demand and year and India set to launch in 2023.
designed with a franchise in mind.” streamed TV channels) means it is Paramount may be late to the
A recent global slowdown in sub- already well-served in the ad- streaming party, but Paramount CEO,
scriber growth at Netflix has cast a supported streaming business. Bob Bakish, believes the timing is right.
certain pall over the whole SVoD mar- “We view all our services in the UK, “We think streaming is a great opportu-
ket. The US streamer reported a net including Channel 5, as being comple- nity,” he told the Financial Times. “We’re
loss of subs in the first quarter 2022 of mentary to each other,” says Fahy. in investment mode and will increase
200,000 and predicted that it would “On the night of Paramount+’s our content investment in 2023. But,
have lost a further 2 million by the end launch, we premiered the first episode beyond that, we see momentum build-
of June. The news has caused many of Halo on Channel 5 at 10:00pm,” notes ing and, ultimately, see streaming hav-
observers to expect a new focus on Fahy. “We have Channel 5 content ing very TV-like margins.” n
Television www.rts.org.uk July/August 2022 17All things bleak
and beautiful
BBC/S4C
Hidden/Craith
I
t’s not just the thought of com-
peting in the World Cup this
Steve Clarke charts the allowed to tell our own stories,” says
Ed Talfan, co-creator of Hinterland, and
winter that’s giving the Welsh rise and rise of Welsh now creative director at Severn Screen.
something to smile about in “It was hard to get home-grown narra-
challenging times. On screens noir, crime stories tives onto the network. S4C and BBC
Welsh noir has put Wales on the
global TV map and given the country’s
that are giving global Wales were producing good work
locally, but it felt like there was a lack
film makers a new sense of confidence. audiences a taste of Welsh drama content making it
These gripping, frequently harrowing, across the border.”
crime dramas that play out against the of the exotic “We were determined, with Hinter-
singular countryside of a nation land, to make a series that would con-
renowned for its art and culture are now modern Wales,” says S4C’s head of nect with audiences locally and
very much part of the TV landscape. drama Gwenllian Gravelle. internationally.
The latest of these series, the six-part Almost a decade ago, another S4C “The crime genre appealed to us
thriller Y Golau, attracted no lesser actor show, Hinterland, single-handedly on a creative level, but it was also the
than A-lister Joanna Scanlan who plays invented what became known as Welsh perfect Trojan horse: a genre that was
Sharon, the mother of a murdered noir. The bleak and beautiful west popular with audiences across the
teenager whose body has never been Wales landscape provided the backdrop globe, and one that also gave us an
found and whose life is understanda- for what some reviewers saw as a opportunity to showcase our culture,
bly haunted by the crime. Welsh Broadchurch. Angst-ridden detec- language and landscape.”
Y Golau’s original Welsh-language tive DCI Tom Mathias, who makes Kurt Talfan adds: “The partnership
version made its debut on S4C in May Wallander look upbeat, finds melan- between BBC Wales, S4C and
and will be shown – in English – as choly and menace wherever he goes. All3Media was crucial to the series’
The Light in the Hall on Channel 4 later Originally shown on BBC Four, the success. The support of BBC Four in
in the year. series was produced by Cardiff-based the UK was also key: its decision to
“We’ve claimed Welsh noir as our Fiction Factory and ran for three series screen the series next to shows such as
own genre and are looking forward to and was later bought by Netflix. The Killing and The Bridge in its Saturday
doing more and looking to new genres “Before Hinterland, there was a feel- night slot felt like a game changer.”
for our dramas as well that represent a ing in Wales that we weren’t being Ten years on from Hinterland, the
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