Soho Stories - Mergers and Acquisitions and Megabucks

Television executive and broadcaster Paul Jackson charts the rise of independent producers, from the isolated minnows of the early 1980s to the global monoliths of today. Following government intervention in 2003, the independent production sector is now the envy of the world and British television has become responsible for some 53 per cent of all format hours on the planet. However, with the emergence of a worldwide digital market, its future is once more uncertain. Paul Jackson is joined by Simon Cowell, Peter Bazalgette, Lorraine Heggessey, Paul Smith, Jimmy Mulville, Steve Morrison, David Frank and Henry Normal to chart the changing fortunes of the industry since the new millenium and to discuss what is needed to maintain artistic and business supremacy in the future.