ITV ringfences £80m of its commissioning budget for diverse productions

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has unveiled plans to spend £80m (US$105m) of its commissioning budget over the next three years on shows made by diverse producers.

Ade Rawcliffe

At least £20m of the broadcaster’s Diversity Commissioning Fund will be reserved for content produced by companies led by black, Asian, minority ethnic and/or disabled executives. These firms will also have access to a £500,000 development fund created by the Coronation Street broadcaster.

To qualify for the fund, productions must be made by a company that is led or owned by a diverse executive or must meet two of the following criteria: diverse creative leadership, diverse stories and portrayal on screen and diverse salary spend, with at least 20% of the salary spend on black, Asian, minority ethnic and/or disabled creatives.

Developed in consultation with the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, the fund complements similar initiatives by the BBC and Channel 4.

Ade Rawcliffe, ITV’s group director of diversity and inclusion, said: “ITV is committed to creating content by, with and for everyone, connecting and reflecting modern audiences. We want more people of colour and disabled people to be able to tell their stories and get opportunities in senior production roles. With this reserve fund, we’re working to speed up progress in a sustainable way and play our part to change the structure of the industry.”

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall added: “Today’s announcement builds on ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan. We want to keep up the momentum and drive more progress at ITV and across the industry, so that our audiences can see their broad range of experiences and perspectives reflected in our content.”