Your article (The great British TV sell-off: who owns the UK’s favourite shows?, Media Guardian, 27 October) raises many interesting points about ownership of TV production companies in the UK. The article is correct in stating that foreign-owned companies are no longer “independent” – but it fails to add that they cannot benefit from terms-of-trade agreements or independent production quotas, which independent TV production companies enjoy. The market share of these foreign-owned companies has only marginally increased in the past five years, from 20% of network commissioned hours to 21%. The BBC is still by far the largest producer in the UK market, with 48%.
The article fails to point out that it is a two-way street. Many UK production companies have bought or invested in American companies, not least ITV, which now owns so many production companies in the US that it is the largest independent producer in America. The UK television industry is part of a global business – in which we punch well above our weight in creativity and exports. It is a sign of our success that businesses from around the globe want to invest in the UK production and broadcasting markets. You only have to look towards more protectionist countries such as France or Canada to see TV industries that are falling behind.
Finally, far from it being a problem that British firms are being taken over, we should look to the hundreds of TV production companies, currently members of Pact, to see that independent television is still a thriving British industry.
John McVay
Chief executive, Pact (Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television)
