Edinburgh TV Festival - a crisis summit to steer us out of trouble?

Edinburgh TV Festival is here and we’re excited to see the programme unfold.

Away from the stage, it’s the place where relationships are forged, commissions are green-lit and the tone for the year ahead is set. The conversations that happen in Edinburgh can and will shape the future of the industry. This must also therefore be the moment to address the elephant in the auditorium.

In short: our beloved industry is in several kinds of trouble. The troubles we face are complex, ever evolving and require the heads of industry putting in some serious work to make even a small dent.

Declining advertising revenues and the spending boom during Covid have triggered a go-slow on commissions; evolving digital content consumption habits are threatening the infrastructure of the industry as we know it; and we have a severely leaking talent pipeline. At the time of writing, no one seems to have called the plumber.

All of this is occurring amid a national cost of living crisis, which when added to by the impact of the US writers strikes, places an unprecedented strain on every part of the industry - arguably hurting freelancers the most.

This week the Film and TV Charity added £500,000 to its stop-gap grants funding to support film and TV workers, triggered by an 800% rise in applications in the month of July. The funding has been provided by the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Prime Video, who pledged donations to bolster the charity’s budget.

Waiting it out is simply not an option for the majority of our workforce, many of whom have caring responsibilities, and escalating rent/mortgage and energy bills to pay. We’re losing talent from our ecosystem every day - people who, with a heavy heart, have decided to switch to sectors like marketing, PR and digital where they can secure stable income.

While no one expects an overnight fix to occur at Edinburgh, the gathering offers a rare chance for people with significant steering and spending power to be in one room to do some emergency action planning - for the short and long term.

We’re hearing whispers that there will be an upturn in the autumn - that the commissioning drought will start to lift - but what happens to our new-won productions as we sprint out of hibernation only to find that a critical mass of the experienced talent we need has left the industry?

Budget cuts and job insecurity affects those from less advantaged backgrounds the most. We saw this in the latest Diamond data - with elevated numbers of women leaving the industry during Covid, and fewer contributions from disabled and Global Ethnic Majority groups in mid to senior level roles.

The game-changing efforts that have been made in diversity and inclusion in our sector over the last decade can’t be allowed to be undermined by an apparent loosening of commitment in times of hardship - you can’t just switch off inclusion when it no longer fits comfortably in your economic plan.

Edinburgh gives us a shot at getting this right. It’s a pivotal moment for the biggest decision-makers in the industry, representing its leading organisations, to be frank and honest with the talent they rely on. It’s the opportunity to explore what a sustainable future looks like for all who have, and want to continue to have a career in TV. A place where commitments can be made on freelancers rights; ramping up mid-to-senior level development initiatives; support and inclusion for our most vulnerable members of the workforce.

We all work in TV because we love what we do, and what we do is bring the stories of the world to life. To do that to the best of our ability, we need to be strong and united in passion; and to support and stand with ALL members of our community - especially those who don’t have the privilege of a permanent, regular salary.