To coincide with the opening of its new regional hub in Leeds, TV indies trade body Pact has announced two new initiatives to help build indie production outside of London.
To an audience of over 100 regional producers including Pact council members, Ian Katz, Director of Programmes at Channel 4, Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council and other civic dignitaries and investment bodies, CEO of Pact John McVay OBE outlined a major new investment programme designed to stimulate the growth and success rates of independent producers outside of London.
The move comes ahead of Channel 4’s opening of its new regional HQ in Leeds in summer this year.
The new initiative sees the launch of two accelerator programmes. The first, the Business Accelerator is focused on enabling indies to better run their business from a commercial perspective. The programme will see Pact provide a free range of services including one to one advice, webinars, events and white papers developed together with industry experts.
The second is the Production Accelerator, designed to help the Pact members adopt production best practice standards in order to develop their slates, manage their productions effectively and build confidence with TV commissioners.
“Fully funded by Pact, our new office in Leeds marks a long term investment with the aim of helping all our members across the UK to grow their businesses and succeed in the UK and international markets,” said Pact’s CEO John McVay OBE.
“The launch of Pact’s new Nations & Regions office in Leeds is incredibly important. Growing the production sector outside London must be a team effort and for it to be meaningful and sustainable we need to work together with Pact, our production partners and partners in the cities and regions across the UK,” said Ian Katz, Director of Programmes for Channel 4.
Leeds-based Kay Mellor, MD of Rollem Productions said: "It’s vitally important for Pact to have representation outside of London and I’m thrilled that their regional HQ is launching here in Leeds. Once again, it’s a validation that Leeds is a significant city in the world of media. Pact’s new HQ will be an essential facility for independent production companies here in the North, and I’m confident that their expertise and new accelerator programmes are exactly what we need to thrive."
The introduction of two new accelerator programmes follow Pact’s Export Accelerator, designed to help UK indies double their export revenue by 2020 and create a robust export strategy for the future.
To date over 300 UK independent producers have participated in the programme and a total projected sales figure of over £53m of new business delivered through the programme is being estimated by participating UK producers.
Staff Reporter
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