A new report based on a Bectu poll of more than 4,000 UK film and TV workers lays bare the shocking lack of work and wider crisis facing the sector, and shows that the industry’s freelance workforce is bearing the brunt.
Bectu surveyed the industry in September 2023 and found that 80 percent of the workforce had been directly impacted by last year’s SAG-AFTRA industrial action in the US. However, they wanted to see whether things had changed following the resolution of the US dispute. Hence, they surveyed 4,160 film and TV workers between 9 and 16 February 2024, which dived into the wider picture and found very little had improved. In fact, more than two-thirds of respondents are still out of work.
The funding challenges facing the BBC, which inevitably impact the amount that it can commission, have also long been the subject of discussion and debate. And in the last few weeks, announcements of redundancies at Channel 4 and of a recruitment freeze at ITV suggest that there is a very real crisis in sustainable funding for linear TV, whether it is publicly or commercially funded.
A combination of a significant drop in advertising revenue and an increase in the cost of production have taken a huge toll on freelancers who work primarily on broadcaster- commissioned productions. The impact on indies big and small is also very evident. Progress for subscription video on demand (SVODs) seems also to have stalled as streamers alter their strategies and take less risks.
The key findings include…
68% of respondents are currently not working, only a tiny decrease from September 2023 (74%)
30% have had no work at all in the past three months
58% say they have not seen any recovery in their employment since the end of industrial action in the US
BAME respondents were less likely to have worked at all over the past three months than their white counterparts (29% of white respondents have not worked at all, while 38% of Asian/British Asian, 34% of those of mixed ethnic backgrounds and 32% of Black respondents say the same).
88% are concerned about their financial security over the next six months.
75% of respondents are struggling with their mental health, and the mental health impact of the crisis is hitting young workers hardest; 90% of 18-24s and 82% of 25-34s report struggling with their mental wellbeing.
There has been an increase in the number of people who are planning to leave the industry within the next five years, up from 24% in September 2023 to 37% in February 2024.
Women were among those least likely to see a future in the industry – 40% of female respondents said they see themselves in another industry in five years’ time compared to 34% of men. And while 37% of white respondents see themselves leaving the industry in the next five years, half of Black respondents (50%) say they will leave the industry in the next five years.
The impact on workers’ financial and mental health is stark, and the findings also show a significant threat to the industry as well as a step backwards in industry diversity. Many workers, especially women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as those working in unscripted TV, plan to leave film and TV work all together.
Thanks @SkyNews for covering the ongoing crisis facing @Bectu members working in film & TV production. This week the SoS said that the UK industry is booming, that seems out of touch & tone deaf to the 68% of crew out of work and struggling financially & with their mental health pic.twitter.com/zTs3IDxYlD
— Philippa Childs (@philippachilds) February 17, 2024
In the September 2023 Bectu survey, 80% of UK industry workers said they were directly impacted by the SAG-AFTRA and/or Writers Guild of America strikes, reflecting the UK’s reliance on US production spend. It is understandable that as negotiations came to a close, production did not immediately spring back. In Bectu’s most recent survey in February 2024, 68% reported that US industrial action directly affected their employment.
However, the two surveys show that the issues surrounding the industry slowdown are far greater. Their survey highlights a much more widespread crisis, with workers across film, TV drama, unscripted TV and commercials all affected. Among those working in unscripted TV, 65% of respondents say they are currently not working, despite 61% saying their employment was not directly impacted by the US industrial disputes and immediate industry slowdown.
Workers are facing a crisis that has a far deeper reach. 58% say they have not seen any recovery in their employment since the end of US industrial action, while 18% have seen a partial recovery in their employment. Only 4% report a full bounce back in their employment, whereas 56% have seen no recovery in their employment since May 2023, with 19% reporting a partial recovery.
I have never known a more dire situation in television in twenty years. There is zero work around. Every freelancer I know is unemployed. Every freelancer I know is extremely worried about money, growing debt and the future of production. Freelancers are already living precarious lives. Now it is untenable. Production companies seem also to have abandoned loyalty to their hard-working freelancers in favour of extremely cheap, under qualified staff whom they overwork and underpay. The jobs that are advertised seem to roll up about three or four production jobs into one role and the pay is linked to the most junior role. It’s sleazy and shortsighted.
Overall, 30% have had no work at all in the past three months, while 34% have had less than a month’s worth of work since November. Of those who are not currently in work, 43% have had no work at all over the past three months, while 38% have had four weeks of work or less.
The entire industry is suffering, and the freelancers seem to be at the bottom of the priority list for companies. I got hired to work on a production that has been on hold for a month, the company couldn’t tell me if I would have a job in two weeks but kept asking me to be flexible. The channel refused to engage with us properly and resulted in a 3-week international shoot having to be turned around in three days. I’ve applied for over 15 jobs in the last eight weeks, only one got back to me.
Bectu’s research has not only highlighted the impact of this crisis on workers, but many respondents voiced how a lack of transparency from broadcasters was making it impossible for them to plan for the future. Freelance workers are used to quieter times, and most have become accustomed to adapting to the ups and downs of the industry. But with many having had no work at all for months on end, having to second guess if or when the industry may start to pick up again, this is becoming an unsustainable situation.
There are many talented people, senior and junior freelancers working in unscripted, with families to support and mortgages to pay. It’s difficult to know
without transparency from broadcasters how long to hold out for work in TV or whether to look for alternative work.
The crisis facing workers is stark. Earlier this year, the Film and TV Charity’s Money Matters report laid bare the state of financial resilience for industry workers, with 42% having less than £1,000 in savings, 27% with no savings at all, and 71% expecting to not have enough work over the next six months.
Bectu’s research highlights the dire situation freelancers have found themselves in; many respondents considered themselves “lucky” to have found work outside the industry, with others having burned through their savings, being forced to sell their homes, cars, rely on partners, friends and families, maxing out credit cards or taking on loans just to “tread water”.
Bectu says in the report…
“The results of our survey paint a bleak picture that questions the very survival of the industry – but also make clear that broadcasters need to take action now to provide clarity for the freelance workforce on which it depends.”
I had to take a part-time job in hospitality to survive these dry months in film and TV. I used all my savings to pay my rent and bills. This is making me feel very unsafe about my future, thinking if I’m taking the right career, but starting from zero again scares me more.
On top of a cost-of-living crisis and recession, the current work drought is pushing the workforce to breaking point. While 8% of respondents had applied for financial support through schemes such as the Film and TV Charity, which saw a surge in applications of 800% in the summer of 2023, respondents made it clear that these were not sufficient to provide the support they needed. Moreover, many responses showed how of those struggling, most either did not qualify for financial support or had found themselves at breaking point due to a lack of transparency from broadcasters. The quick turnaround on jobs that freelancers are used to had also meant that many were holding out for work picking up, so had not applied for financial support such as universal credit.
Comparing Bectu’s February 2024 results with their survey from September 2023, the financial impact of the crisis is now even more significant. More people said they were unable to pay all of their household bills now (24%) than in September (22%), and there has been an increase in people taking on loans or unsecured debt in order to cover their bills (23% up from 15% in September).
The drop off in work, and the subsequent financial impact, is having a significant negative impact on workers’ mental health, with 75% reporting that they are struggling with their mental wellbeing. More than a quarter (26%) reported really struggling with their mental health as a result of the drop off of available work, with a number of respondents reporting having had breakdowns or becoming suicidal as a result.
The lack of work has affected my mental wellbeing and physical too. Certain production companies are taking advantage of the dire situation by cutting rates and the race to the bottom is real. Anyone from a middle-class background will survive this.
The mental health impact of the crisis is hitting young workers hardest; 72% of respondents aged 18-24 and 69% of those aged 25-34 say their mental health has been negatively impacted due to financial issues and/or a lack of work. 90% of 18-24s and 82% of 25-34s report struggling with their mental wellbeing.
In the past few years, skills shortages have been seen as the greatest threat posed to the UK’s film and TV production, as the growth of streaming services created a ‘golden era’ for the industry. But any newcomers to the industry now face a very uncertain future, as rather than workforce shortages, the ongoing employment drought is posing an existential threat to the UK’s screen industries.
Bectu is calling on the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to convene an urgent industry summit to discuss the crisis. Read the letter to Lucy Frazer MP here.
The union is also calling for greater transparency on commissioning from UK broadcasters, as well as a greater focus on equality and diversity in the industry. Commenting on the report, the Head of Bectu Philippa Childs, said:
“There has been a lot of discussion about the state of the UK’s film and TV industry over the past year – about strikes in the US, a downturn in ad revenue, and reduced commissioning.
In our survey we heard directly from those at the coalface of these significant challenges – the freelance workforce – and the picture is very bleak.
Alongside rampant mental health challenges and debilitating financial difficulties, one of the most concerning takeaways from our research was the emphasis respondents placed on how the current crisis is amplifying existing inequalities across the industry.
Far too many workers – particularly women and those from the global majority – told us they intend to leave the industry altogether within five years.
The time for warm words and platitudes is over. You cannot have a thriving industry without a thriving and properly supported workforce, and we hope this report is the alarm bell the industry needs. Broadcasters and government must act now to halt the exodus of diverse and talented crew and tackle the structural challenges that leave workers feeling isolated, that damage their mental health and devastate their financial security.
We consistently hear from the Secretary of State and other government officials about how much they value the creative industries. We now call on them to step up, put their money where their mouth is, and take decisive action to protect our much loved and revered film and TV industry, and the workers who make it all happen.”
In their conclusion, Bectu’s report makes a number of recommendations…
Supporting the workforce through and beyond the crisis
Clarity and transparency on commissioning
Funding for public sector broadcasters
Ensuring a safety net for freelancers
A focus on equality and diversity across the industry
Industry collaboration is critical