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ITV, Amazon Prime join unscripted fund launched by BBC, Channel 4, ScreenSkills

UK commercial broadcaster ITV and streamer Amazon Prime have backed a fund that supports skills and training development for the unscripted workforce.

Jane Muirhead

The agreement means the two firms will pay a percentage of all unscripted commission budgets to the fund, which was launched by UK training body ScreenSkills and is backed by producers’ association Pact.

ScreenSkills’ Unscripted TV Skills Fund launched last June to address skills shortages and inclusion, including boosting training in nations and regions with a minimum of 50% in training beneficiaries outside of London.

Overall, the fund will see training investment in unscripted TV rise from £370,000 (US$510,000) to £3m a year.

As backers of the fund, ITV and Prime join the BBC and Channel 4, which were founding investors along with Sky, A+E Networks UK and Discovery UK. Channel 5 and Netflix also joined last year.

Jane Muirhead, chair of the Unscripted TV Skills Council and co-founder and MD of Raise the Roof Productions, said: “All of us at the coal face of this recruitment crisis have been crying out for this collective approach to improve inclusion, boost availability of skilled crew and talent across the UK, and future-proof the unscripted TV industry. It’s brilliant news that ITV and Amazon’s Prime Video have joined us and demonstrates that we all share common goals.”

ITV’s MD of media and entertainment Kevin Lygo said: “As we extend our commissioning ambitions even further in 2022 with the launch of ITVX, now is a great time for us to sign up for the fund. Having the very best people working on shows, from a wide range of backgrounds is very important to us, so we are pleased to join as backers of this fund, to address skills shortages and boost talent training out of London, in particular.”

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