A review of studios sector UK 2010 - Broadcast
Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios managing director Roger Morris blames the dip in TV work on a “lack of decision-making and musical chairs” at the top of broadcasters including ITV and Channel 5.
Meanwhile, the studio also saw Big Brother bow out after its 11th series, although its dormant set remains in place at the Hertfordshire lot, and it had to turn away the sixth series of ITV1’s Dancing On Ice because of a lack of a capacity caused by film shoots for The King’s Speech and Sherlock Holmes 2.
“We’ve looked to keep an even balance of film and TV work alongside corporate and advertising shoots,” says Morris.
“While TV comprises 50% of our business, it’s important to keep that spread so that we’re not overly reliant on one sector.”
Morris is planning to double the studio space at Elstree to avoid having to turn away large-scale shows in future. “We want to build more stages and we’re discussing the optimum size of construction with a view to putting the plan into action in the next 12 months,” he says.
BBC Studios
2010 has been the best year at BBC Studios and Post Production (S&PP) for a decade, claims chief executive Mark Thomas.
He says the business has a 60:40 BBC to indie work ratio and is on target to achieve a 50:50 balance next year.
“We’ve raised our game,” he explains. “We’ve proved we’re willing to innovate and introduce new workflows to support productions through this diffi cult business climate, where historically we’ve operated more like a factory.”
He cites BBC S&PP’s deal with Endemol to take over the management of its Bristol studio and postproduction services for Deal Or No Deal, which was inked in October, as the first of a series of new initiatives.
“There will be a number of other projects like that, which have yet to be finalised,” says Thomas.
Despite a strike that threatened to disrupt shooting, Thomas is also pleased that the BBC’s Elstree Studios managed to secure EastEnders for another five years, transforming production with HD and tapeless resources in the process.
Pinewood Shepperton Studios
Pinewood Shepperton Studios, the UK’s largest complex, blames a reduction in spend from broadcasters for a 6% fall in its TV revenues over the first half of the year
But group director for corporate affairs Andrew Smith points out that the Buckinghamshire studio is increasingly attracting business from a wider range of industries.
“We have enormous flexibility with regard to our film sound stages and TV facilities, which few other studios can match,” he says.
“They can be used interchangeably according to demand and are not just for film and TV producers but for other creative industries.”
Video games developer Ubisoft Entertainment, for example, used Pinewood’s audio post-production facilities. “There’s a growing demand for the quality of sound for games to be the equivalent of film,” says Smith.
That said, Pinewood hosted large TV productions Ant And Dec’s Push The Button and The Whole 19 Yards, while Shepperton is preparing for Dancing On Ice, which is being refreshed as it moves to its new home.
The ITV production will shoot in high definition (HD) for the first time and is building two new ice rinks - a training rink and studio rink - and a set that ITV promises will be “bigger and bolder”.
With arena-style shows such as Dancing On Ice credited with reviving TV ratings, the studio that has arguably benefi ted the most from their recommission has been Wembley’s Fountain Studios, home to Britain’s Got Talent, Over The Rainbow, The Cube and, of course, The X Factor.
“We’ve had one of our best years ever,” says managing director Mariana Spater. “The shows are getting bigger but we are flexible to client needs and believe we have a reputation for delivering shows with impact.”
Fountain has completed the final stages of a three-year comprehensive HD revamp, with its second gallery now converted to the format.
The london Studios
The
year got off to a slow start at The London Studios (TLS) but bookings
have built up over 2010.
According
Kathy Schulz, director of studio services and client liaison:
“There’s been a steady stream of bookings, with revenues up year
on year mainly because of an increase in volume.”
TLS can
count on the regular support of BBC factual shows QI and Have I Got
News For You but the studio has also seen Lorraine and Loose Women
stripped live on weekdays and has entertained Piers Morgan’s Life
Stories and PopStar To OperaStar.
“We
have a pretty full order book for Q1 2011,” says Schulz.
Key events for studios in the UK throughout 2010.
March
- Peel Media appoints BBC S&PP’s Andy Waters as head of studios for MediaCityUK
- ITV’s plan to sell its Bristol studios to Verve Properties for £5m collapses
April
- Pinewood Studios appeals to South Buckinghamshire District Council after it rejects the studio’s planning permission for its live/work development, Project Pinewood
June
- IMG Sports Media builds a £5m studio in Chiswick to produce and distribute Premier League football content for international broadcasters
July
- ITV announces £5m overhaul of its Kirkstall Road studios in Leeds. The year-long ‘Project Farm’ will see the main ITV Yorkshire building become a file-based HD production centre, with six studios, and the new home of Emmerdale
August
- TLS upgrades two studios to HD (three out of a total of six) and adds six HD Symphony Nitris onlines for post
- Bectu calls off a second strike over payments for EastEnders staff
September
- BBC S&PP makes studio six at TVC the UK’s first 1080p50-capable studio
- Fremantle Media’s Merton Studios, home to The Bill since 1983, is sold to Panther Securities for £4.75m
October
- BBC S&PP strikes deal with Endemol to take over studio and post-production services for Deal Or No Deal and rental lease of its Bristol studio
November
- SIS signs 10-year contract to manage the studios and post-production resources at MediaCityUK
- Waterloo Film Studios’ four-stage white/green screen complex opens in central London
