See this in the mediaguardian (free registration required)

If you want to help Nick and you are a member of PACT please email him at nick AT vivum.net to second his motion by 18-Apr-07 to force PACT to give more clout to small indies.

This is the article in full length:

When producer Nick Rosen tried to argue the case for small indies to get a better deal, he found the support of his industry body was distinctly lacking

Monday March 19, 2007
The Guardian

The changing balance of power in the TV industry is reducing competition, quality and diversity. Industry consolidation is tilting the playing field ever further against smaller and even medium-sized independent TV producers, encouraging bland programmes aimed at the international market.

That's why a little over a year ago, I joined the council of Pact, the independent film and TV producers' organisation, as an ordinary member, thinking that I would like to do my little bit to help smaller producers get a fair deal.

But for my first year, I did not receive a single invitation to attend a single meeting or discuss a single policy other than at the monthly council meetings, which are rather dry, tedious affairs mainly intended to rubber-stamp decisions made in other committees.

My attempts to raise issues of concern to smaller members were simply stonewalled. I volunteered to join policy-making subcommittees, but was ignored. I stood for vice-chairman, hoping that the rest of the council would take notice of the strength of feeling I represent. But I could not have been more wrong. I was simply frozen out. It turns out that I was just the latest in a long line of hopefuls with similar ideas, people who had been seen off over the years.

So last month, I raised the issues relating to small producers in an article for Broadcast magazine, because of the huge frustration many feel that the major broadcasters have set their faces against small companies and against innovation (which they privately admit).

Pact's response, however, was to suspend me from my post as vice-chairman at the monthly council meeting on the grounds that my article breached confidentiality and I was guilty of unspecified "improper conduct". I was suspended, in my view, because the chairman Alex Graham and his supporters disagreed with me, and resented me taking the case for small producers public. Graham had already sent all members of Pact an email denouncing my piece, and asking for reactions which he has failed to publish, and refused me the right of reply.

Before I outline what I intend to do about that, let me go over the issues that I raised. In recent years, the large number of small, powerless production companies have seen their access to broadcasters diminish and a handful of large, powerful companies have strengthened their relationships considerably.

There are numerous rumours of so-called output deals - informal agreements to commission a certain number of hours from favoured suppliers - and I am concerned about these because once the number of hours produced for output deals exceeds a certain level, in effect the indie becomes a broadcaster.

The biggest companies flatly deny there is a problem. But the latest data shows small companies, although 56% of the industry, have a tiny share of the commissions - less than 5% - and an even lower share of the work from the main terrestrials.

Meanwhile, sustainable micro-business models have developed - it makes creative and commercial sense for national and international production networks to use new technology to manage their relationships and working practices. But the main UK broadcasters - where most of our commissions come from - don't see it that way. They tell me they prefer to do business with the bigger companies.

It is not the quality of their ideas that stops the minnows winning commissions, nor the track record of the personnel. It is their lack of scale that is the problem. I believe the current power imbalance is bad for the industry as a whole because it stifles innovation, reduces genuine competition, gives broadcasters another means to force down budgets and in the long term impedes growth in the independent sector.

In common with others in the industry, I think we need to consider setting aside a portion of the production quota for small independents. At present, the BBC and ITV are obliged to buy 25% of their programmes from outside their own organisations. But a part of that should be ring-fenced for companies with less than, say, six staff, or less than a certain turnover. This would motivate commissioning editors to spread their budgets across more suppliers.

But the most urgent problem is lack of finance for smaller and medium-sized indies - the big money is chasing only the biggest companies. It is best not to leave the seed funding to the largest indies, which are looking for ways to reduce competition rather than increase it. I want to see the financial sector launch a fund to invest in 50 or more small producers - investors tell me they are searching for the next wave of deals and the next generation of growth in the sector. A fund would increase deal flow. I am talking to corporate finance and venture capital companies about creating a fund for small companies, which will be willing and able to focus on the smaller companies venture capitalists are not usually interested in.

I hope this will give indies more credibility with the broadcasters which understandably prefer to deal with companies with secure finances. On the other hand, if the broadcasters made decisions in a more timely manner, it would sharply reduce financial uncertainty for the producers.

Back to Pact. I have great respect for the present council's combined experience, and their successful political campaigns to date - but representing the small indie is not one of these. Graham harks on about Pact's regional quota campaign which he says has been of great benefit to small producers. But it has had only a limited impact on us minnows of the industry. The biggest companies simply started satellite offices outside the M25 and continue to hoover up the bulk of the commissions.

The best thing about the article I wrote was the fantastic support I have received and the fascinating information that has flowed in from many different sources. I have learnt some really shocking facts about the way broadcasters stack the odds against the smaller companies, but it has all come from individuals who would be jeopardised if I went public. Their stories left me more convinced than ever I am doing the right thing, and I will continue to put the arguments and hope that people listen and agree with me.

For now, my battle is to get back onto the Pact council and ensure that the organisation represents all its members, not just the largest ones. To that end I am proposing a special resolution to be debated at Pact's offices in Holborn at noon on April 18. I already have 16 seconders, but it needs about 30 member companies to support the resolution before it can be debated, so please email me at nick AT vivum.net if you want to second my motion.