Proof if proof be need be (as someone once said). I was talking about things being hard for the TV industry not 2 days ago and today the Guardian publishes a story on ITV's troubles with their pension pot and their plan to 'slash jobs' as a reaction to the economic difficulties.
(See full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/13/itv-staff-hundreds-job-cuts)
This is pretty bad news for ITV, although I suspect they will weather the storm, but for independent producers it is really tough. I imagine that we will see a number put to the sword this year, unless the government steps up and changes legislation in product placement or loosens their requirements (as they have in the states) on other areas of revenue generation.
On the other hand, if there are cuts in the ITV productions team, we may actually see a slight increase in the amount of external content they commissioning. I know from a digital point of view that this is an exciting opportunity right now.
So what does ITV need from suppliers? I suspect the following critera wouldn't go a miss:
1. Agility
2. Financial stability
3. Creativity
4. Diversity
5. Practicality
I think point #5 is cruicial, as above all we all want to be here in 2010 onwards, so we must work together to pull through this. The industry has shown that small players can make a big impact, and this is true of content, strategy and digital delivery, so it is up to us in the industry to not bury our head in our hands, but to take agile, profitable, creative, diverse and practical ideas to the broadcasters in order to improve not only the business, but also the end user experience. After all, that is what we are all here for, to make money, and to entertain people - not neccessrily in that order!
Chin up people, we can do it!
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