Sister co-founder Jane Featherstone has said the contracting TV market in the U.K. has created a “difficult few months” for production companies.
“Some have closed down and people are losing their jobs,” she said. “Producers like me are trying to navigate how we have a mixed ecology [between public service broadcasters and deep-pocketed U.S. streamers.]”
“We’re in this structural change where there will be consolidation of some kind to get us through this,” she added.
“When we all started [in the industry] twenty-five years ago there weren’t that many of us and the market was in a very different place. I don’t see doom and gloom forever I think we are in a transitional moment. I do believe in the next two or three years value comes back to producers and producers are valued again in that way.”
Featherstone launched Sister in 2015, with Elizabeth Murdoch coming on board as a minority shareholder. The company is known for shows including Benedict Cumberbatch starrer “Eric,” which premiered recently on Netflix, and BBC legal drama “The Split.” The company is run by global CEO Cindy Holland out of Los Angeles while Featherstone remains on board as CCO.
Featherstone was speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in London on Tuesday afternoon, on a panel titled “How do we value our industry?” Alongside J.P. Morgan banking exec Harry Hampson and former BBC chair Richard Sharp. The panel was chaired by journalist Kamal Ahmed.
Other speakers at the RTS conference include Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, BBC director general Tim Davie and soccer star turned TV producer David Beckham.
Source Agencies
