Sister co-founder Jane Featherstone said the UK TV contracting market had created a “tough few months” for production companies.
“Some businesses have closed and people are losing their jobs,” she said. “Producers like me are trying to deal with the mixed environment we are living in.” [between public service broadcasters and deep-pocketed U.S. streamers.]”
“We're in this structural change where there's going to be some kind of consolidation to help us get through this,” she added.
“When we all started [in the industry] “Twenty-five years ago we weren’t that big and the market was in a completely different situation. I don’t see gloom and doom forever, I think we’re in a transitional moment. I think in the next two or three years the value will return to the producers and the producers will be valued again in this way.”
Featherstone launched Sister in 2015, with Elisabeth Murdoch joining as a minority shareholder. The company is best known for shows such as the Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer “Eric,” which recently premiered on Netflix, and the BBC legal drama “The Split.” The company is run by global CEO Cindy Holland from Los Angeles, while Featherstone remains at the helm as chief commercial officer.
Featherstone was speaking at the Royal Television Society conference in London on Tuesday afternoon, on a panel titled “How do we rate our industry?” alongside Harry Hampson, chief executive of JPMorgan, and former BBC chairman Richard Sharpe. The panel was moderated by journalist Kamal Ahmed.
Other speakers at the RTS conference include Netflix chief Ted Sarandos, BBC director general Tim Davie, and soccer star-turned-TV producer David Beckham.
