John Macvay: Last News

The likelihood of a Pact/Bectu deal over scripted crew working conditions has just dipped dramatically with UK trade body Pact publishing new recommended term and conditions for when the deal with Bectu elapses on September 1.

EXCLUSIVE: A last-ditch attempt to convince the UK’s Culture Department (DCMS) to extend the £500M ($680M) insurance backstop beyond April 30 has been taking place behind the scenes this week, led by major broadcaster and indie groups, with Pact CEO John McVay warning productions may have to shut down when the backstop ends.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK government is “monitoring what further action is needed” to help commercial insurers return to market and provide commercially viable rates when the £500M ($680M) Film & TV Production Restart Scheme ends on April 30.

Two new reports from leading UK producer group Pact show the stark impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK independent production sector, with the group’s CEO John McVay warning that “it may take many years for the industry to build back to where it was prior to the pandemic”.

Hello International Insiders, hope you’re getting into the Christmas spirit. Tom Grater here delivering a sack full of attention-grabbing headlines from this week of film and TV news.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. producers are in discussions with the government to extend the £500 million ($664.6 million) COVID-19 insurance scheme for Film & TV production.As first reported by Broadcast, producers are seeking to extend the deadline by six months, to June 2021.

EXCLUSIVE: UK producers are in talks with the government over extending Britain’s world-leading production insurance scheme, which opened the door to £1BN ($1.3BN) of shoots returning to work after the catastrophic coronavirus shutdown.

The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) has revealed the winners of it 2020 PGGB Innovation Awards, in association with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, which recognise production professionals who have navigated new ways of working to keep UK film and TV production moving forward during lockdown.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s public service broadcasters, such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, have upped their game when it comes to dealing with inequality and diversity issues within the industry, says John McVay, chief executive of producers’ body PACT.McVay was providing evidence at a U.K. Parliamentary committee hearing on diversity in TV, which is part of a series of debates on the future of public service broadcasting in the country.

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe U.K.’s film and TV production restart scheme won’t be open to applications until it’s secured State Aid approval from the European Union — a process that’s still ongoing, with no clear end date in sight.“I was hoping it would be several weeks ago, I hope it’s tomorrow, but I just don’t know,” John McVay, CEO of U.K. producers trade org Pact, told Variety on Thursday.As the scheme remains in limbo, the European Union Commission is planning legal proceedings against the U.K.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorHappy Friday and welcome to the latest edition of International Insider. Jake Kanter here, bringing you everything that’s worth knowing about the past week in global film and TV.Déjà vu: If there was any lingering optimism that the UK could avoid a second wave of coronavirus, events this week will surely have washed away these hopes.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe UK government has listened to months of industry lobbying and launched an emergency £500M ($646M) film and TV coronavirus production insurance fund, which will effectively underwrite the cost of shoots closing in the event of a second lockdown.The insurance solution is a significant boost to producers who have been looking for a way to return to production without exposing themselves to potentially catastrophic financial risk. It’s also good news for countless out-of-work freelancers, with Pact CEO John McVay reckoning it could open the floodgates to a backlog of shoots worth an estimated £1BN ($1.3BN).

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe U.K. has finalized its insurance solution for domestic film and TV production, with a £500 million ($647 million) fund set up to boost the industry.Variety was first to reveal in May that a government-backed fund estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds was being proposed by an industry taskforce.The proposal effectively asked government for a guarantee around coverage for suspension or abandonment costs relating to COVID-19.John McVay, chief executive of U.K.

As the U.K.’s film and TV industry looks to restart, a crucial 10-day consultation period is underway on production guidelines that are now circulating across the industry. (Excerpts of the guidelines are published below.)

By Andreas Wiseman

Jake Kanter International TV EditorEXCLUSIVE: The British government is edging closer to making a decision that could open the floodgates to hundreds of film and TV shoots returning to production following the coronavirus shutdown.Deadline hears that Treasury ministers are expected to make a call shortly on whether to establish an emergency insurance fund, which will effectively underwrite the cost of productions closing in the event of a second lockdown.It follows constructive talks with a BFI-assembled task force, chaired by PACT chief executive John McVay, which has been lobbying for the emergency safety net, potentially worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBritish TV and film producers are fighting to secure insurance payouts running to “many many millions” of pounds after the coronavirus pandemic shut down shoots.Pact CEO John McVay revealed that he is working to help producers with more than 500 claims lodged when the lockdown was introduced in March, and has been in regular discussions with insurers and brokers in recent weeks over payouts.“I wasn’t much of an expert on production insurance a few weeks ago, but I’ve become very familiar now. Some of the brokers and [insurance] companies are now my best friends,” McVay joked during a virtual industry production panel organized by the Royal Television Society.

By Manori Ravindran