Christmas TV masks a 'crisis' behind the cameras for freelancers

A slow-down in TV commissioning has led to a “crisis” behind the cameras, with growing numbers of freelance crews leaving the industry altogether.

Despite the success of Christmas TV shows like Gavin and Stacey, the union Bectu said half of freelancers were out of work as broadcasters grappled with tighter budgets and falling advertising revenue.

The head of one independent production company said it had been “frightening” to see other companies go bust in 2024.

Freelancers who had seen drastic reductions in their work said they were struggling to get by.

Producers said changing priorities by broadcasters had led to fewer programmes being commissioned, particularly entertainment shows and documentaries.

Commercial broadcasters have faced rising costs and falling advertising revenue, while the BBC is also cutting costs.

The lack of work for freelance crews eventually forced Amy Mills to quit the industry altogether.

“I couldn’t understand how I was going to make it work,” she said, having spent 10 years working on network TV productions in Wales before the jobs stopped coming.

“I had to make the decision to put everything else first.”

Significant changes have taken place, including the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and a boom in productions which followed before quickly going bust.

Amy, from Bridgend, now works in public relations for a charity and said her friends who are freelancing were “hanging on” in the hope the situation improved.

“They are really starting to consider other options.”

She said she felt “grief” for the career she had left behind, but now had greater financial security in a reliable job.

Freelancers who were considering leaving TV could also continue to use their skills.

Amy said: “In TV, we are born multi-taskers. We are used to working to high-pressure deadlines, quick timelines, and those skills are useful in so many other industries.”

TV and games composer Ben Randall is one of the freelancers hoping to ride out the storm.

“I had to sell a bunch of gear to get through,” he said, reflecting on how he coped with a lack of work in November. “It was completely dry.”

And he is not alone.

“Unless you’re an A-list Hollywood composer, you’re struggling.”

Some new commissions have now arrived, but the 22-year-old from Port Talbot said he was anxious about the future.

“I’m not really good at anything else, so I don’t have another game plan,” he said.

There’s also a mental strain on freelancers who face greater uncertainty than ever when looking for work.

“There’s a psychological element,” he said.

“I was quite lucky that when I left uni, then I met all these brilliant people, and I was really busy for a few months, like most of the year.

“And then suddenly, dry. You get no replies.

“The events get either more exclusive or more expensive, and just trying to convince people online through email to hire you is becoming harder and harder.”

Unscripted programmes, such as entertainment shows and documentaries, have been particularly badly hit by reduced commissioning from broadcasters.

Bectu said over half of its freelance members were out of work, with 78% reporting that they were struggling to pay their bills.

Carwyn Donovan, who leads the Wales branch of Bectu, said: “Nearly half of this workforce is considering how to leave the industry within the next five years, and that should be of significant concern to the Welsh government, but also the UK government.

“The screen industry is a significant success story and a significant contributor to our economy. But the success of the industry is underpinned by those workers, and one cannot overstate the role that they play in culture as well, in telling Wales’ story to the rest of the world.”

Bectu wants the UK government to create a freelancers’ commissioner to oversee the workforce and protect their rights.

In a statement the UK government said: “Without the self-employed, our first-class TV industry would not be able to entertain millions of people around the world and drive billions into our economy. These workers must feel that a creative career is sustainable for them.

“We welcome the work the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority is doing to put a robust set of standards in place to ensure the sector remains one of the best in the world to work in.”

The Welsh government said it was “a challenging time for the TV industry” and that its investments in the creative industries were “targeted towards strengthening the industry for the long term”.

Welsh independent production company Wildflame closed in August, along with Label 1 which had made Saving Lives in Cardiff for BBC Wales.

BBC Wales said broadcasters were “having to adapt and change the way they commission programmes” in light of changing audience behaviour.

It said it was “investing in more content from Wales for our online services” and “premium titles” from BBC Wales had included dramas like Lost Boys and Fairies and “impactful” documentaries.

Welsh language broadcaster S4C said it “continued to commission as usual” but it recognised “how difficult the media landscape is for freelancers” in Wales.

“It has been frightening for a lot of companies,” said Emyr Afan.

As the chief executive of Afanti, he makes programmes for the BBC, Channel 5 and S4C.

“We’ve lost a few companies in the last few months, which has not been easy. But we also need to pivot,” he added.

The company had already diversified for “a more digital era, where people are consuming television in a different way, where the budget is tighter and we have to work differently,” Mr Afan said.

After a boom in spending on programmes after the pandemic, Mr Afan said the “crash” over the past two years had been “more difficult than Covid” for TV workers.

“The broadcasters aren’t responsible for us. We’re responsible for our own future. I don’t believe in a handout culture, we work hard for the ideas we win,” he said.

“And as hard as it gets, winning those commissions are even more treasured than they were before,” he said, adding that succeeding in business was about “innovation, it’s about entrepreneurship. And I think, unfortunately, we are going to see a period of survival of the fittest.”