What I Love About Staying Indie

The rate of consolidation in the UK TV production sector has been extraordinary. Giant global broadcasting businesses have been buying up indies as if their lives depended on it. Turns out, they do. Discovery, NBC Universal, Fox, ITV Studios, cannot grow organically. They must acquire or die.

For independent producers, who thrive on creating ideas from nothing, this has presented a new opportunity: to create new independent production businesses from nothing too. To paraphrase the famous quote: 'If you’re not an indie in your youth you have no heart.  If you haven’t sold out by middle age, you have no brain.' But, I would say that. I’ve started three production companies and sold two of them. 

When I first became an indie in 1991 it was not on purpose. My employer, BSB, had merged with SKY and we were all made redundant, so I decided to become an independent producer. Ten years later in 2001, after my partner Gavin Hay and I sold Brighter Pictures, the production company we’d started in our bedroom in Brixton, I found myself in the belly of Endemol, a giant global production business. This time when faced with what to do next, the choice to start up another production company was very much on purpose.

Running an indie is much like being the skipper of your own small sailboat. Yes, it can get scary in turbulent waters, and the chance of sinking is constant and real, but there is a thrill of standing on the prow and feeling the wind in your hair; a wonderful camaraderie amongst the crew; and you can berth in any dock.

Working for a Super-Indie is more like being aboard a giant ocean-liner. Even in high seas, you won’t get tossed about too much and the chance of capsizing is slim. But you’ll seldom glimpse the sea, let alone feel the wind in your hair; you won’t even get to meet half of the 6000+ crew and you’re the wrong fit for many berths.

Sometimes, of course, working for a giant super-tanker can be a welcome relief. When, after the financial storms of 2008 I ended up working for another super-tanker, this time as director of formats at ITV Studios, it felt like the Promised Land. A regular paycheck, health insurance, a pension and someone somewhere within the company to deal with every legal or production problem that arises. What’s not to like?

Apart from other people deciding what shows you get to pitch; being restricted on who you pitch to (try selling an ITV Studios show to BBC1) and watching shareholders get rich on the back of your ideas, it certainly is a lot less stressful than running an Indie.

But apart from feeling anonymous, unrecognised and unrewarded, there’s another problem with working for a giant production company. UK buyers prefer chartering a small yacht to the all you can eat buffet on a cruise ship. There’s just something about sitting at the Captain’s table every night and knowing that you are the most important passenger.

After many conversations with friends and former colleagues who love developing, pitching and producing shows, but currently feel constrained, fellow producer, Justin Bodle and I decided to launch The Hot House, a new creative incubator designed to enable the UK’s most exciting content creators to start their own production companies. The UK is a recognised centre of excellence for content creation, but there is little support out there for creative entrepreneurs.  This new venture is all about literally hot-housing talent for the first years until they are self-sustaining.

Our whole approach is collaborative rather than corporate. We want to be light on our feet and always free to find the best partners for any given project. By capitalizing the business and operating a unique partnership model, The Hot House intends to provide senior innovators with leading expertise in this arena, strong motivation and the best possible environment in which to create content. And we know we’re on to something, a couple of the brightest lights in the business have already signed up to work with us. Just this week we announced Ex On The Beach producer Steven D Wright and his new production company Kerfuffle TV.

Creating a system where creatives like Steven can stay independent is what it’s all about. I’ve experienced the heaving excitement of skippering an Indie and enjoyed the stately security on board some giant global production businesses. I know which one I love the most.