As a follow-up, John McVay (Chief executive, Pact (Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television)) has added his comments, among which is:-


The article fails to point out that it is a two-way street. Many UK production companies have bought or invested in American companies, not least ITV, which now owns so many production companies in the US that it is the largest independent producer in America. The UK television industry is part of a global business – in which we punch well above our weight in creativity and exports. It is a sign of our success that businesses from around the globe want to invest in the UK production and broadcasting markets. You only have to look towards more protectionist countries such as France or Canada to see TV industries that are falling behind.

Finally, far from it being a problem that British firms are being taken over, we should look to the hundreds of TV production companies, currently members of Pact, to see that independent television is still a thriving British industry.