Half a dozen television production companies are planning to relocate to Leeds.
That's the message from Cllr Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, who revealed the names of the companies at a full council meeting on Wednesday, March 27.
It follows the announcement from broadcaster Channel 4, which is Leeds spent LESS than Manchester and Birmingham on successful Channel 4 bid
The companies relocating to Leeds include the makers of 24 Hours in A&E, Red Dwarf and the Great British Singalong.
Cllr Blake said: “There is huge excitement was generated by Channel 4’s decision.
“Channel 4 have chosen to put a strong emphasis on digital. It complements growth sectors in the city and will support young people in Leeds.
“We expect Channel 4 to have a wide impact on the creative sector here, boosting the sector by around 1,200 jobs, as well as an economic impact of £1bn, over the 10 years for the Leeds City Region.
“We are already seeing the impact as since Channel 4s announcement, a number of other TV and film sector organisations have announced relocations here, including UKTV, Wise Owl Films, Workerbee, Simplestream and PACT.”
Leeds spent LESS than Manchester and Birmingham on successful Channel 4 bid
UKTV is part owned by the BBC, and oversees satellite channels such as Dave, Gold and Alibi. Its production credits mainly include comedies, such as Red Dwarf, Taskmaster and Most Haunted.
Wise Owl Films specialises in documentaries around British working class culture, and has already started operating in Leeds.
Simplestream works on what it calls 'next generation TV', specialising in the live streaming of sports events.
Worker Bee is a division of Endemol Shine Productions. It has produced documentaries with Idris Elba, as well as ITV’s Great British Singalong and E4’s Geeks.
The Garden has produced hit Channel 4 shows 24 Hours in A&E and 24 Hours in Police Custody.
While not a production company per se, PACT is the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companies.
Cllr Blake added: “The real excitement is around the new digital creative unit, and many other creative departments will be coming into Leeds on the back of their announcement.
“Access to skilled and talented workforce was one of the reasons why Leeds was successful in attracting Channel 4.
"We are a young city and a diverse city, where 25 per cent of our population are millennials and 75 different ethnic backgrounds.”
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