Television

The TV drama drain continues to run dry   Author: eNews staff and agencies | May 15, 2007, 10:30

It will probably come as a surprise to some in Australian TV that Foxtel hasn't any Australian drama programs in production at the moment.

That's in spite of all the noise coming from the Pay TV business about how it’s committed to local production, but like the Free To Air Commercial networks, that commitment is on its own, highly skewed terms.

We are indebted to a featurette on Foxtel and its main man, Brian Walsh, in the American trade bible Variety
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117964688.html?categoryId=2577&cs=1.

"After a busy 12 months carrying the hopes for local drama, Foxtel is set for a hiatus; "Love My Way" has finished its third and final series, a second series of "Dangerous" is yet to be decided, and Foxtel has no new drama currently skedded for production.

"Walsh puts the blame in the lap of the local production industry.

"There hasn't been a rush of drama ideas or producers knocking down our door; that's never been the case," he says. "We have had to go out and solicit the sort of drama that we want to make."

Those comments are sure to upset the local independent industry, although Foxtel's biggest supporter, director John Edwards of Southern Star (one of the producers of Love My Way producer and Dangerous, two Foxtel Aussie dramas now resting) has supported Walsh's contention.

"Most of the drama on free-to-air is backward-looking and conservative and fearful, whereas the drama we are being encouraged to make on subscription TV takes a little bit of guts," he says. "In the case of 'Love My Way,' our concern was to make something that was not only as good as it could be, but also to separate it from what was currently around on free TV, so we set out to be as bold as possible."

Rival producers say Edwards' comments are more of the same for which he has become well -known for.

But the independent say the real story at Foxtel is the ban by Walsh on sourcing material from anywhere but Melbourne.

This is understood to be until the end of the financial year next month.

The reason is commercial and nothing to do with quality: Foxtel has moved production of its Comedy Channel from Sydney to Melbourne.

That's a move decided on by the Pay TV Network when the AFL Footy Channel folded last August and it looked as though there would be no AFL games on Pay TV in 2007 and beyond.

To save money and use the facilities built for the Footy Channel, Foxtel management decided to move the Comedy Channel from Sydney to Melbourne, meaning considerable upheaval for personnel.

Now that there are AFL games on pay from Fox Sports, the need isn't as pressing but the move is still being made.

Independent producers who have pitched ideas to Walsh this year have been told that unless they come from Melbourne, don't bother.

That applies to comedy (Walsh says Foxtel wants to get closer to the Melbourne comedy industry) and anyone with drama ideas.

Another problem for independent producers is the low budgets Foxtel pays for drama and documentary/factual material.

Foxtel gives the impression that it is spending a lot of money and doing lots of productions but in the last year the three commercial FTA networks have made or started local dramas, Home and Away, Neighbours, Tripping Over, City Homicide, McLeod's Daughters, All Saints, Sea Patrol, Underbelly.

Foxtel had two, Love My Way, Dangerous and Satisfaction will follow later this year.

Independent producers say Walsh and Foxtel run their own race but if they offered producers more commercial deals they would get more commercial proposals being put to them.

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