Written by on Mar 21, 2012. Posted in Incentive News

UK Government announces new filming incentive to boost TV location filming

The UK Government has announced a new TV filming incentive for shows that could include productions like Strike Back. In a year when the eyes of the world are already on London and the wider UK because of the Olympics, the move could prove decisive given the growth of high-end TV production.

Several UK producers have said in recent weeks that they wouldn’t hesitate to film their TV projects in the UK given the right incentive support. As a result, there’s the potential for a surge in TV production in the near-future.

Ivan Dunleavy is Chief Executive of Pinewood Shepperton: “We warmly welcome the announcement by the Chancellor that the government intends to introduce a fiscal incentive for high end television drama. This is further evidence of the Government's measured support for the creative industries.”

We warmly welcome the announcement by the Chancellor that the government intends to introduce a fiscal incentive for high end television drama.

Ivan Dunleavy, Pinewood Shepperton

The impact on available studio space will be interesting to monitor, given that the UK’s major facilities are already massively popular among the major Hollywood studios. Increased demand for places to actually film could potentially result in calls for new studio builds, or at least new facilities capable of hosting film units.

How will the UK’s neighbours respond? Ireland has been doing very nicely in recent years with high-end TV production, much of it originating from the UK, while places like South Africa and Eastern Europe similarly have a lot to lose.

Sweetening their own incentive deals is one option, but it remains to be seen whether this is a real choice in this age of global austerity. Highlighting the appeal of their own local scenic beauty is perhaps more pragmatic in the immediate future.