Bectu, Directors UK and NUJ among organisations to support anti-privatisation push

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Six major trade bodies have joined Broadcast’s Not 4 Sale campaign against the privatisation of Channel 4, as the number of indies on board approaches 140.

Bectu, Directors UK, the NUJ, Welsh indies trade body TAC, Women in Film & TV and the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain have added their names to the pledge, which argues that a sale of the broadcaster into private hands would not benefit audiences or the creative sector.

The signatures from Phillipa Childs (Bectu), Andy Harrower (DUK), Michelle Stanistreet (NUJ), Luned Whelan (TAC), Liz Tucker (WFTV) and Ellie Peers (WGGB) join those of the bosses of almost 140 production companies from an array of super-indie groups and true indies, spread across the UK and representing a wide range of genres.

These include AbbotVision (No Offence), Bandicoot (The Masked Singer), Lion TV (Horrible Histories), Minnow Films (SAS: Who Dares Wins), Mindhouse Productions (Gods of Snooker) and Rollem Productions (The Syndicate).

Yesterday, Ricky Gervais posted a message to his 14m Twitter followers that he disagreed with a sale.

“For almost 40 years, Channel 4 has been a launch pad for new ideas and new talent. It’s been able to do that because of its remit and not-for-profit structure and it would be a real shame if that was destroyed by selling off the channel,” he wrote.

Elsewhere, the president of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons pointed to the “integral role” C4 has played as a “standard bearer” of the games. In a letter published in The Times today Parsons said C4’s investment is a “UK soft-power success story”.

“As the government considers the future of public service broadcasting, I would urge it to ensure that any changes to C4’s model do not harm its ability to support the Paralympic movement,” he said.

Not 4 Sale: indie signatories 
Jonathan Braman A Squared Films 
Martin Carr   AbbottVision
Lynda Cope  Accolade Films 
Dobs Vye Adage Music 
Matt Richards, Ian Cundall & Andy Joynson Air TV
Ian Lamarra Alaska TV
Kate Sinclair Alchemy Entertainment 
Ed Stobart Alleycats
John Smithson Arrow Pictures
Daniel Nettleton Bandicoot TV 
Tom Hollander / Hannah Pescod Bandstand Productions
Paul Yule Berwick Universal Pictures
Damon Pattison Beyond Productions
Victor Schonfeld FRSA     Beyond the Frame 
Dhanny Joshi Big Deal Films
Ed Coulthard Blast! Films
Alexandra Blue Bluebird Productions
Richard Bowron Bone Soup Productions 
Afua Hirsch Born In Me Productions
Charles Brand   Brandish Productions
Mandy Leith Brian Leith Productions
Nick Godwin & Tom Porter  Britespark Films
Foz Allan Bryncoed
Simon Platz Bucks Music Group 
Pat Younge Cardiff Productions
Sioned Morys Chwarel 
Danielle Lux CPL Productions
Cat Lewis Crackit Productions
Elaine Hackett Crackit Productions
Pippa Cross CrossDay Productions
Dov Freedman Curious Films 
Jonathan Schütz Curly Lizard Films
Paul Stead Daisybeck Studios
Dermot Lavery DoubleBand Films 
Richard Bond  Dragonfly
Emma Cooper Empress Films
Tim Hincks Expectation
Mark Williams Fin London Limited
Jes Wilkins Firecracker Films
Nicole Kleeman Firecrest Films
Nick Underhill & Colleen Flynn  Flicker Productions 
Jez Lee Forest
Monika Kasprzak  Friction Burn Pictures 
Jane Berthoud Funnybones Productions 
Faraz Osman Gold Wala
Ray Tostevin Grace Productions 
Jimmy Mulville Hat Trick Television / Hat Trick Mercurio 
Christian Baute Headline Pictures
Johnny Webb HiddenLight Productions
Jayne  Chard Hummingbird Films 
Dan Baldwin Hungry Bear Media
Kate Cook & Bruce Goodison Indefinite Films
Lyndsey Posner Independent Talent Group 
Victoria Powell Indielab 
Diarmid Scrimshaw  Inflammable Films 
Cat Lynch Initial TV
Matt McGough Ithica Films
Mark Downie IWC Media
Nick Parnes  Kalel Productions
Sohail Shah King of Sunshine Productions 
Nick Emmerson Koska 
Blair Krempel & Mark Wood Krempelwood 
Ollie Tait Lambent Productions
Andy Harries Left Bank Pictures
Nick Catliff, Richard Bradley & Emma Morgan Lion TV
Ben Gale  Little Gem 
Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing & Charlie Shackleton Loop
Richard McKerrow Love Productions
Luti Fagbenle Luti Media
Tally Garner Mam Tor Productions
Justin Gorman Man Alive Entertainment
Nick Curwin Matisse
Krishnendu Majumdar Me+You Productions 
Chris Brogden Mentorn
Clelia Mountford & Sharon Horgan  Merman 
David Sumnall Middlechild Productions
Louis Theroux, Nancy Strang, Arron Fellows, Sophie Ardern Mindhouse Productions
Morgan Matthews  Minnow 
Will Wood Multitude Media 
Dr Jon Wardle National Film and Television School
Neil Duncanson North One Television
Tina Flintoff & Nick Hornby  Optomen
Laura Mansfield Outline Productions
Nisha Parti Parti Productions
Nick Southgate Passion Pictures
Steve Smith Picture Zero Productions 
Mat Steiner Primal Media
Jane Muirhead Raise the Roof Productions 
Alexander Gardiner Rare TV
Joely Fether Raw TV
Jim Allen RDF Television
Alan Hayling & Alex Cooke Renegade Pictures
Joanna Ball Ricochet
Robert Marsh Robert & Friends 
Rochelle Stevens Rochelle Stevens & co
Kay Mellor  Rollem Production Company 
Ash Atalla Roughcut Television
Iain Wimbush & Emily Hudd  Rumpus Media 
Donald Coutts Scotch
Teresa Potocka  Sensethefuture Pictures 
Joe Talbot Short Form Film Co.
Simon Williamson Simon Williamson Agency
Linda James & Savannah James-Bayly Sly Fox Productions 
Mel Leach South Shore 
Joff Powell, Steve Havers & Mark Baker Spark Media 
Andrew Newman Spelthorne Community Television
Natalie Humphreys  Storyboard Studios 
Steve Wynne Strawberry Blond
Brandon Relph Studio BE
Stephen Lambert Studio Lambert
Neil Crombie Swan Films
Michael Hutchinson-Uzielli Tangent Films 
Steve Humphries  Testimony Films 
Lucy Vernall The Academic Ideas Lab
Charlie Read & Niall Murdoch  The Outfit
Simone Pennant MBE  The TV Collective 
David Parfitt Trademark Films 
Claire Scally & Margaret Scott TRC
Jess Fowle True North
Karen Smith Tuesday’s Child
Alan Clements Two Rivers Media
David Olusoga & Mike Smith Uplands
Sanjay Singhal Voltage TV
Jannine Waddell Waddell Media
Leanne Klein Wall to Wall and Twenty Twenty 
Mark Herbert & Peter Carlton Warp Films
Tom Miller Water & Power Productions
Simon Alveranga and Phil Good We Are Kash ltd
Hugh Whitworth Whitworth Media 
Paul Islwyn Thomas Wildflame
Archie Baron  Wingspan Productions
Samantha Anstiss Wonderhood Studios
Kate Beal  Woodcut Media
Siân Price Yeti Television
David Flynn & Lucas Church  Youngest Media 

Pact plans

Indie trade body Pact has begun urging its members to write to their local MP clearly outlining that they and the production sector do not support the government’s plans.

It launched its 4 The Future push via an email from chief exec John McVay in which he noted the unique role C4 plays in the UK’s £3.3bn production sector.

“The government’s consultation provides little if any factual evidence and makes unfounded and incorrect assumptions about Channel 4’s future prospects,” said McVay.

“We believe the sale of C4, and any change to its remit, would have drastic implications for the UK’s world-leading independent film and TV sector, impacting businesses and the many thousands of jobs created and sustained across the UK.”

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Click for more information about Broadcast’s C4 anti-privatisation campaign Not 4 Sale

If you would like to join email not4sale@broadcastnow.co.uk indicating whether you are joining in a personal capacity or signing up your business, to enable Broadcast to highlight each area when publishing the results.