With fully-funded commissions becoming ever more rare, factual TV producers are increasingly looking for deficit finance. Pippa Considine talks to the distributors helping to bridge the widening gap
The pain of smaller factual producers is nowhere more apparent than in meetings with distributors. With commissioners truly strapped for cash, productions are rarely fully-funded, and producers – when they finally get commitment from a channel – are expected to bridge a gap with deficit finance.
Distributors describe the “palpable fear” of producers on a knife edge and report a hike in self-funding.
Factual commissions overall are down. In 2024, the total of unscripted commissions in the UK fell to their lowest level in the last four years, almost 20% down on a high of 1,612 in 2022, according to research by Ampere Analysis.
“Commercial free to air broadcasters were the hardest hit, with Channel 4 cutting back on Unscripted original content by 38% from 2022 to 2024,” says senior analyst at Ampere Zuzana Henkova. “US Unscripted commissions have followed a similar pattern, with 2024 seeing a 23% decrease on 2022 driven predominantly by Pay TV operators and SVoDs.”
Pippa Considine
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