Study title

United Kingdom

Organization

This longitudinal survey of two key aspects of performance facilitated a comprehensive analysis of significant changes, if any, to the business performance as well as performance and character of content produced by case-study companies during the period. The sampling devised a typology of companies of varying ownership configurations that make up the UK sector: standalone independents; part-vertically integrated (<25% broadcaster-owned); vertically integrated (>25% broadcaster-owned); conglomerate owned (horizontally integrated/’super indie’). Case-study companies were selected and classified according to these categories and each company was subject to two distinct but complementary surveys. Firstly, a survey of business performance between 2007 and 2017. This was followed by a survey of content output during the period 2007-2017. This resulted in the collation of two databases• Database 1: Business Performance Database• Database 2: Content Analysis DatabaseDatabase 1: Business Performance DatabaseThe Business Performance Database quantifies business performance using the following key performance indicators: • Turnover: this measure is routinely used in industry and academic discourse as a means of gauging the scale of a commercial operation. Tracked over the period it is possible to observe year-on-year and overall changes in company turnover.• Operating Profit: reflects the profit derived when operating costs (typically production and administration) are subtracted from turnover. • Profit Margin: used in analysis of business efficiency, profit margin is calculated by measuring operating profit as a percentage of turnover. • UK/International Turnover: This metric identifies the split between domestic and international income. This reflects the increasing focus on international markets manifest in industrial, academic and popular media discourses. Compiling this dataset facilitated the analysis of business performance over time and allowed the effects of takeover to be examined. Database 2: Content Analysis DatabaseA quantitative survey of all publicly known outputs of each company between 2007-2017 was conducted in order to generate a descriptive statistical analysis of each company’s output, as well as analyses of significant relationships between ownership and local/global parameters and market/critical parameters of performance. The combined output of the 12 companies numbered in excess of 900 unique programmes or content propositions with 16 data points for each.Columns A-H of the database capture descriptive information relating to: TX (transmission) date, genre, TX entity [PSB, SVoD etc.] and hours/episodes/series produced. This allowed a comprehensive overview of the volume and type of content produced as well as the commissioning entities behind these productions. In addition to these useful descriptive markers, a primary aim of compiling the database was to allow an interrogation of the Local/Global characteristics (setting, location, story, talent) and of Market/Critical reception (awards, reviews, ratings, territorial reach) for individual content propositions and bundles of content produced by case-study companies. Columns I-P of the database contain this information. To effectively code for less readily quantifiable characteristics of content output it was necessary to develop meaningful proxies of quality, indigeneity and critical reception.