Examination of Witnesses (Questions 398
- 399)
TUESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2004
PACT, IWC MEDIA,
UK FILM COUNCIL
Chairman: As they say at the beginning
of the best production on at the National Theatre at the moment—and
I do not refer to Stuff Happens—playgoers, I bid
you welcome. Frank Doran will start the questioning.
Q398 Mr Doran: Thanks very much,
Chairman, and welcome, gentlemen. One of the issues that this
Committee has discussed on a number of occasions in the past is
BBC Television's commitment to film, and I know that is an issue
that has exercised you. There is a Communications Act commitment
to have regard to film, and I would be interested in your views
on how the BBC carries out its responsibilities.
Mr McVay: I will start that, and
I am sure some of my colleagues will join in that. I think our
view about the BBC is that as a publicly-funded broadcaster we
feel that the BBC plays a unique role in its support for British
film; however, that their support for British film over the past
few years has been more supporting US films rather than British
film. We feel that there is an opportunity from the work of this
Committee, the review of the charter, that this could be addressed
to strike a better balance for the British licence fee payer so
they can see more British films, that the BBC can be one of the
key investors in British talent, and that we can deliver great
British films to the British licence fee payer. For example, in
the year 2003-04 only five UK films were shown in peak time on
BBC1 compared to a hundred US films. Furthermore, only two UK
films were premiered in peak time on BBC1 during that time compared
to 28 US films. So clearly there is a lot of interest in US films,
but we think the balance has gone too far towards acquisition
of US bundled films, and we think that should be addressed by
the BBC to strike a balance so that we can see more British talent
on the BBC.
Q399 Mr Doran: Is it an issue of
quality, or is it something else—cost, for example?
Mr McVay: I think it is an issue
of quality, and if you look at what may be comprised of the US
bundled deal you will get one blockbuster film, which would probably
be the bank holiday film, but then a whole range of other films
which will have varying quality anyway. I think our problem is
that those varying quality US films displace the slot opportunities
for British films, which of course vary in quality as well, but
I think if there is no opportunity to see a range of British films,
some of which will hopefully be blockbusters—like Billy
Elliott, which at its last outing I think got an audience
of 12 million—compared with examples where late on a Sunday
night, 11.30, you might get very much a B-list US film which will
be of variable quality. Our contention is that at 11.30 on a Sunday
night maybe it would be useful to see a B-list British film that
might be of variable quality; but I think the quality is always
in the eye of the beholder.
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