Pact is drawing up plans for how it can help indies deal with Channel 5 under Richard Desmond after holding a meeting of “very unhappy” members on 17 November.
The meeting was attended by about 40 people, including many leading indies, and looked to address a range of issues suppliers have faced with the channel since it was bought by Northern & Shell, including delayed payments, changing payment terms mid-contract and aggressive attempts to drive down the cost of shows.
An attendee said Pact was looking to employ a strength-in-numbers approach and come up with a range of measures it could employ if the situation with the broadcaster fails to improve.
One said: “It was a very positive meeting. We all agreed something has to be done as many of us are worried about the future.”
However, Pact’s precise plans remain closely guarded as it works out how best to protect the commercial interests of its members.
An indie source added: “There’s a tactical sensitivity to not saying precisely what the next step is.”
It is thought Pact will hope to influence C5 to resolve the situation by presenting a collective response from its suppliers.
In October, indie Shine threatened legal action against the broadcaster over a £1m unpaid bill for ent show Don’t Stop Believing.
Pact chief executive John McVay said the meeting paved the way for further action.
“We had a meeting with our members who work with C5 to discuss the ongoing concerns with the variations of the agreements they have. The general mood was people are very unhappy with Northern & Shell behaviour. There are a range of issues and N&S has not got itself into a good place,” said McVay.
“We’ve taken account of our members’ concerns and will move forward with a series of actions around that. We wanted to get everyone together to discuss a collective, clear view of what they want us to do and we did get that.”
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