Christmas TV masks a ‘crisis’ behind the cameras for freelancers

Welsh independent production company Wildflame closed in August, along with Label 1 which had made Saving Lives in Cardiff for BBC Wales.

BBC Wales said broadcasters were “having to adapt and change the way they commission programmes” in light of changing audience behaviour.

It said it was “investing in more content from Wales for our online services” and “premium titles” from BBC Wales had included dramas like Lost Boys and Fairies and “impactful” documentaries.

Welsh language broadcaster S4C said it “continued to commission as usual” but it recognised “how difficult the media landscape is for freelancers” in Wales.

“It has been frightening for a lot of companies,” said Emyr Afan.

As the chief executive of Afanti, he makes programmes for the BBC, Channel 5 and S4C.

“We’ve lost a few companies in the last few months, which has not been easy. But we also need to pivot,” he added.

The company had already diversified for “a more digital era, where people are consuming television in a different way, where the budget is tighter and we have to work differently,” Mr Afan said.

After a boom in spending on programmes after the pandemic, Mr Afan said the “crash” over the past two years had been “more difficult than Covid” for TV workers.

“The broadcasters aren’t responsible for us. We’re responsible for our own future. I don’t believe in a handout culture, we work hard for the ideas we win,” he said.

“And as hard as it gets, winning those commissions are even more treasured than they were before,” he said, adding that succeeding in business was about “innovation, it’s about entrepreneurship. And I think, unfortunately, we are going to see a period of survival of the fittest.”